Three new members elected to Fairmount Heights council

Councilman complains he was denied opportunity to vote

Councilman Dean Cooks, who said he did not learn of the special Sept. 18 meeting until just before it occurred, said he was under the impression that the mayor and the entire council would select the new members, who had all applied for their seats, before the Sept. 19 meeting.

Cooks, who arrived late to the special session and missed the vote, said he has no animosity toward the new members, but was upset he missed an opportunity to interview the candidates.

‘‘Had I known, I would’ve been there,” Cooks said.

When he arrived at the Sept. 18 meeting, Mayor Madeline Richardson and council members Nathaniel Mines and Jacqueline Wood-Dodson had already voted to fill the three seats vacated by Carlisa Brooks, Richard Saxon and Richardson. Richardson was elected mayor; Brooks left for personal reasons; Saxon left for health reasons.

Wood-Dodson said Cooks was informed of the Sept. 18 meeting during a Sept. 11 work session.

‘‘Everyone that was there ... can attest we were to come last night to do what was being done,” Wood-Dodson said in an interview Sept.19. ‘‘And out of his mouth, he said, ‘Mayor, I’ve got your back on that.’ That’s on tape.”

Cooks thought the vote was invalid because he wasn’t there to make up the majority required by the town’s charter. But Town Attorney Karren Pope-Onwukwe said because Fairmount Heights allows the mayor a vote on the council, Richardson, Wood-Dodson and Mines made up the voting majority.

Cooks said he wants to move past the disagreement and focus on getting to know his newest colleagues.