Yet another member of the Shepherdstown Town Council has announced his resignation, bringing the total number of resignations in 2007 to three.
Frank Salzano told The Observer that he would resign his position in July. He said he would be traveling to Maine for two months and then would fly to New Zealand for the foreseeable future. Salzano is a member of the Planning Commission as well as the Farmers Market and Parks and Recreation committees. Salzano’s announcement follows the resignation of Peter Wilson and Cindy Cook earlier in the year.
There are only six town council members in addition to the mayor. The Town Council is responsible for electing new members when resignations occur. This means that this Town Council will have elected 50 percent of its members—not by the voters of Shepherdstown. In effect, the Town Council has become an appointed policy-making body instead of an elected body.
When asked if he felt that council members had a responsibility to the voters to stay for the full amount of the two year term  for which he was elected, Salzano said, “It’s a volunteer position. I have a responsibility as long as I’m in office.”
Mayor Lance Dom said that while he didn’t want resignations during mid term, they would not, in his view, cause undue hardship to the Town. Dom did say, however, that these types of resignation were always a challenge because it is not easy to find replacements.
Council Member Howard Mills pointed out that each of the councilors’ resignations had their personal reasons and that he “didn’t see the resignations as a problem or part of a trend.”
Sonia Evanisko, a member of the Shepherdstown Residents Association, was outraged at the news of Salzano’s resignation, “He promised numerous times during his election campaign that he would stay after graduation and remain in office for the full two years of his term.” Evanisko added that local residents should make clear to council members their choice for Salzano’s replacement.
What remains to be seen is whether a council of self-selecting members will have the same level of discourse and divergent opinions as one in which the majority of members would have stood for election.