The Laramie City Council voted on a motion Tuesday night that puts Jason Loos in position to be the next Laramie city attorney.
Andrea Summerville, ward one representative, introduced a motion to direct the interim city attorneys to enter into contractual negotiations with Loos.. The motion passed with a six to three majority.
Vicki Henry, ward one representative, said that Loos was the candidate with the best experience.
“Mr. Loos has the most municipal experience out of the four candidates,” Henry said, “That’s why I voted for him.”
Joe Shumway, ward two representative, was one of the three negative votes on the motion. He said that while Loos is extremely qualified and did well in interviews, he did not outshine Jim Schermetzler, a former Albany County Attorney candidate.
“Sometimes a person will do extremely well in an interview, then when it comes to performance it is not what was expected,” Shumway said.
He said he supported Schermetzler because he knew what to expect from past experience with him. Shumway also said that, while he voted for Schermetzler, he is not bothered by the potential hire.
“I am not at all unhappy with the decision of the council to appoint Loos,” Shumway said, “I felt that Shermetzler had more overall experience in law, but Loos had more municipal experience, and that’s what steered the council’s decision.”
Dave Paulekas, Laramie mayor, said that the motion does not make Loos city attorney until the contractual negotiations are completed..
“It’s not done until it’s done,” Paulekas said, “He always has the option of changing his mind.”
He said that the background and experience of Loos made him the most qualified for the job. Paulekas also said that every party involved is on the same page and that Loos will likely be the city attorney.
Other candidates for the position included Josh Merseal and Tony Lopez.
