Whitehouse mayor puts nephew on village council

3/18/2005

Whitehouse Mayor Stanley Wielinski has appointed his nephew, Joe Wielinski, to fill a vacant seat on village council.

Joe Wielinski, a volunteer firefighter for the village, will serve the rest of a council term that expires at the end of the year. To remain on council, he must run for election in November.

He is replacing Jim Baber, who resigned from council in December because he was moving out of the village. The remaining council members appointed Frank Billings to the vacant seat in January, but he resigned after officials said he did not meet the eligibility requirements to serve.

Under the village charter, residents are not eligible to be a council member unless they have been registered to vote in the village for at least two years. Mr. Billings has lived in the village for several years but was only registered to vote in Whitehouse for 18 months when he joined council.

After a council seat has been vacant for more than 30 days, the mayor can appoint a new member without the consent of council.