Revised February 1, 2024
At the May 22. 2023 Council meeting, CM Sanschagrin chose to abstain from voting on a bond sale. He was challenged by the Mayor and CM Callies for abstaining.
The City Attorney was asked for his opinion on the viability of the abstention. See the episode here. Note the attorney’s reply.* When can a voting member abstain?
*Orono Council Member Benson recently faced a similar challenge at her first meeting. In that case, the Orono City Attorney (from the same firm as Shorewood’s attorney) correctly explained to her the meaning of an abstention.
UPDATE (Jun 12, 2023): The City Attorney changed his previous opinion regarding the Sanschagrin’s “right” to abstain by saying the CM did indeed have that authority. He apologized for his error. CM Sanschagrin thanked him for his apology (start at hr.1:16.58).
UPDATE #2 De ja vu (Jun 26, 2023): See a repeat of the Jun 12, 2023 episode regarding another abstention on the same matter
