For the first time, mayor Harris actually showed up for a meeting pertaining to the new manager search. Not to participate in the meeting as the mayor, as he was elected to do, but to plead for the job.

Harris gave about a six minute, impassioned speech, laying out all the reasons he should get the job and even stated, he was "committed to his job as mayor." What jumped out from watching the video of the meeting was, the whole time mayor Harris was talking about his commitment to being mayor, there was his empty seat, right in the middle of the council table, where he should have been sitting to help the council through the manager hiring process.

Obviously, his commitment and responsibility to being the elected mayor has taken a back seat to his desire to be the paid city manager. If he wants to be the manager, he should resign as mayor. The previous city manager salary was, $165,000.00 per year.

The council will meet again tonight, 2/26, to continue the discussion on hiring a new city manager. It is unknown if Harris will show up as the mayor or as a job applicant.

Below are two links to the video of the meeting. Part one is council discussion, part two is Harris's speech and the vote. Harris's speech is at the 5:35-11:50 mark. Apparently, the official video ended after the council took a ten minute break. Fortunately, a citizen videoed the second portion of the meeting.

Click Here For Part 1 Of The Meeting

Click Here For Part 2 Of The Meeting