5 Ousted Officials Reinstated

Two weeks after a split City Council purged the seven members of the Public Utility Board, it reversed itself Tuesday and reappointed five members after Councilman Irv Pickler said his original vote was a mistake.

Pickler on Tuesday joined Councilmen Bob D. Simpson and Tom Daly, who opposed the move Sept. 10, in voting to reinstate the board, which monitors the city’s utility companies. The vote was to oust the board effective Oct. 22.

However, the council also voted Tuesday to leave open the positions of board members Joe White and Ian Skidmore. The council members did not say why they voted to oust those two.

Pickler changed his mind after Councilman William D. Ehrle was quoted by newspapers as saying he had voted to oust the board because it was the utility administration’s “rubber stamp.”

“I flip-flopped and I apologize for that,” Pickler said. “But we have a good board. They are not a bunch of yes men. . . .”