The president of the City Council in Springfield, Massachusetts, said an open process will be used to fill the position of city clerk.
Marcus Williams said a subcommittee of councilors will review applicants before sending the names of finalists to the full council for consideration.
Mayor Domenic Sarno on Wednesday said he was nominating elections commissioner Gladys Oyola to be the new clerk.
But Williams said anyone can apply.
"The mayor came out with an appointment of his own," Williams said. "And I would certainly encourage the public to that as merely kind of a recommendation letter from his office, in terms of putting a candidate up that he wants to see fill that position."
A spokesperson for Sarno said the mayor had no comment on the process the council is using.
Sarno said Wednesday in a press release that if Oyola is chosen, he would give her cabinet head status. Oyola would oversee elections, the city clerk's office and Springfield's 311 phone service, which provides information and assistance with non-emergency city services.
"This is a natural progression for Gladys who has always done an outstanding job to be the face and run the operations of our city’s public information departments," Sarno said in the release.
The city clerk's vacancy comes after the announcement of the upcoming resignation of Tasheena Davis, who will return to Springfield's law department. Davis was city clerk for nearly two years, and will become the first associate city solicitor.
