Whitehall City Council has appointed one of the citizen leaders of the failed recall effort against fellow council members and the mayoras its next president.
Patricia Balser, one of the leaders of a recall attempt that sought to oust Mayor Michael Bivens and at-large Council members Amy Harcar and Lori Elmore, was chosen by a 4-3 vote during a contentious Sept. 1 council meeting.
Council members Brian McCann, Gerald Dixon, Mike Adkins, and President Pro Tempore Larry Morrison voted in favor of appointing Balser.
Council members Devin Brown, Elmore, and Harcar voted to appointJim Graham, who previously served as City Council president from 2011 to 2019.
Before the vote took place, Brown and Harcar peppered Balser with questions about her role in
the city's recall effort, her ability to work with council members she disagrees with, and whether she would be able to work side by side with Bivens – particularly when it came to potential hot-button issues in Whitehall such as economic development.
"I'm concerned that you would fuel fires instead of extinguish them," Harcar said to Balser, referring to her role in the failed recall attempt. Balser defended her involvement in the recall attempt and emphasized that she was working with Whitehall residents who felt that their voices were not being heard.
Balser will be replacing Thomas Potter, who resigned as City Council President on July 14 because he relocated to Columbus. Balser has not previously served on City Council in any capacity.
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: A leader of failed Whitehall recall attempt appointed City Council president
