A minor flap erupted Tuesday in Milan as two candidates planning to run for city council went to the city clerk’s office that morning and found it closed. They had every right to be surprised, since the filing period for city offices in the Nov. 2 general election was supposed to open at 9:30 a.m., and did not open until about 11 a.m.
As it turned out, city clerk Chris Kleven had goofed up and had made an appointment that morning and was unable to open the office at the usual time. That may be construed by some as nefarious and intended to thwart prospective candidates, but we don’t see it that way. Mistakes happen.
The city clerk’s office in Milan, as it is in many other small rural communities, is a one-person operation. While some might think that these individuals should be in their office at all times, that is not practical. Yes, they should make every effort to be present during the hours they are supposed to be in their office but circumstances may occasionally dictate otherwise. Illness or emergencies come to mind.
While we do think the incident is newsworthy enough to do a story about it, if for no other reason than to present both sides of the matter, we do not believe it is worth getting all wrought up over. Kleven said she has apologized to those who were inconvenienced by not being able to file their affidavits of candidacy Tuesday morning. And that’s all it was — an inconvenience.
It’s not as though the only opportunity the prospective candidates had to file was Tuesday morning when Kleven was out of her office. The filing period runs until the close of business Aug. 17, nearly two weeks from now.
As for criticisms leveled at Kleven that she failed to have published in the official newspaper a notice of the filing period prior to the start of the period, that may be legitimate. But at the same time, it is not an oversight that will prevent seriously interested individuals from being able to file for office. The two who showed up Tuesday morning apparently knew when the filing window opened, and we assume they know when it closes.
And the notice will run this week and next in the American-News.
A little less hype and a little more patience would have been the better way to have handled this minor faux pas.
