Council OKs Mayor Larson Appointments Against Mayor-Elect Reinert’s Plea To Deny

DULUTH, Minn. – Without discussion and against the wishes of Mayor-Elect Roger Reinert, the Duluth City Council approved three appointments by outgoing Mayor Emily Larson at Monday night’s city council meeting, and it included appointing former city councilor Zack Filipovich to the DECC’s board.

Reinert had called on the council to deny Larson’s appointments, He said the 60-40 win on election night meant voters want change, which is why he wants to fill any opening seats on boards and commissions.

Reinert, Filipovich, Larson

As for the appointment of Filipovich, Reinert sent FOX 21 the following statement after the council meeting:

“These are challenging financial times for the DECC. It needs an active, engaged, and hands-on Board. I hope Zack exceeds my expectations.”

A public information officer for Mayor Larson told FOX 21 last week that, “It is within Mayor Larson’s authority until the end of her term to fill board and commission appointments, and she is conducting this business as usual to fill some of the open seats.”

While councilors chose not to discuss the politics between Larson and Reinert, Councilor Arik Forsman sent FOX 21 the following statement:

“Earlier tonight, the council approved the appointment of Zack Filipovich to the DECC Board. Mr. Filipovich interviewed with the council for the open seat on Thursday and spoke well to how his background in accounting and finance will serve the organization at a time when it needs those skills to become more financially sustainable.

However, the disagreement between our current and future mayor over this appointment elevated what is normally a routine council agenda item into something more political. The current council has important business to finish this year, such as approving the 2024 budget, before the new council takes office in January. The last thing we need is more distractions that can be avoided during this transition.

As such, I have shared with the current administration and council leadership that it’s my preference not to make any further appointments to boards and commissions through the end of the year. I’m optimistic this will be the case.”

The council also approved Mayor Larson’s appointments of Tifany Sprague to the Natural Resource Commission and Jennifer Harris to the Duluth Human Rights Commission.