Melvindale Mayor Nicole Shkira (left), shown with Assistant Corporate Counsel Roger Kaly, had her veto of a city council resolution overridden April 3 by the body.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
MELVINDALE – The City Council overrode Mayor Nicole Shkira’s veto of a resolution addressing multiple ordinance changes during the April 3 council meeting, with both actions likely motivated by ongoing tension between the parties.
Councilmembers Dawn Cartrette, Julie Rauser, Joe Jackson and Stan Filipowski were in favor of the override, with Councilmembers Saleim Abuali and Scott Frederick abstaining.
When Shkira vetoed Resolution 24-03-167, which addressed multiple ordinance changes, many simply procedural, she called attention to two specific reasons for her veto of the resolution: the elimination of one of the two public comment times during council meetings, and the council’s decision to reserve the front row of the council chamber seating for department heads, officials and members of the news media.
Shkira said the elimination of one of the two public comment periods “takes away the voice of the people.”
The first comment period at the beginning of the meeting was eliminated by the resolution, while the second comment period at the end of the meeting was retained, providing attendees with an opportunity to respond to issues addressed by the body.
Anyone attending the meeting is still allowed one five-minute comment period, provided they do not make any personal attacks against members of the body.
The mayor also said that the front row should be maintained for department heads only, and indicated her intention to bar members of the news media from the front row, which allows them easier access to move about the chamber as needed, including taking photos.
Shkira said there is no state law that requires her to give the media any accommodations.
She also said that the council is limiting her ability to govern.
“I don’t believe it is right that the city council have the authority to usurp my authority,” Shkira said in a March 27 memo to City Clerk Diana Zarazua, which was distributed to council members. “I feel this will definitely become an issue because of the dislike council has for certain individuals that attend council meetings.”
Some council members maintain that the mayor allows her supporters to disrupt meetings from the podium during public comment and from the chamber during meetings without repercussions, while council supporters are gaveled and dealt with swiftly.
In addition, Shkira’s personal lawyer, Bill Colovos, who has been sitting in the front row during the majority of city council meetings since Shkira was elected, would no longer be able to do so under the new resolution.
Colovos was Shkira’s choice for corporate counsel, which the council denied, maintaining longtime Corporate Counsel Lawrence Coogan. Coogan’s law partner, Roger Kaly, serves as the assistant corporate counsel as needed.
Colovos’ comments directed at select members of the council during public comment time have not ingratiated himself to some members of the body.
Coogan reported Shkira to state officials for alleged election violations during her campaign, which was his duty, but which incurred strain to their professional relationship.
Melvindale Mayor Nicole Shkira (sixth from left), shown with City Councilmembers Dawn Cartrette (left), Julie Rauser and Saleim Abuali, Mayor and City Council Secretary Cecilia Dally, City Manager and Finance Director Richard Ortiz, assistant Corporate Counsel Roger Kaly, and City Councilmembers Joe Jackson, Stan Filipowski and Scott Frederick, had her mayoral veto of a city council resolution overridden April 3 by the body.