Breckenridge Town Council voted 4-2 in favor of seating Dick Carleton to an open council position last week.

An open records request revealed council members Elisabeth Lawrence and Jeffrey Bergeron were in the minority, favoring the appointment of David Rossi, while Wendy Wolfe, Gary Gallagher, Erin Gigliello and Mayor Eric Mamula backed Carleton.

The seat came open when former Councilman Mike Dudick resigned his position at the beginning of April. Complicating matters, Gigliello, Lawrence and Gallagher ran unopposed with three open seats in the 2018 municipal election, which was canceled due to a lack of competition. As a result, there was no clear fourth or fifth vote-getter, and the decision was put to council.

Twenty-one people submitted letters applying for the open seat, and in deciding Carleton would fill out the remainder of Dudick’s term, which ends in April 2020, council expressed deep hopes everyone who applied will run in the next election. Additionally, Mamula said he hopes the applicants, and others in town, will consider volunteering for positions on Breckenridge’s many committees, commissions and boards. Historically, serving the town in this way has been a springboard into council.