Rural Nevada city council adds woman passed over earlier

ELY, Nev. – A rural Nevada city council appointed a woman to fill a vacant seat after criticism about her being passed over amid comments from two councilmen about her ability to do the job while raising a family.

The Ely Times reports that Michelle Beecher was named to the five-member Ely (EE’-lee) City Council during a Sept. 26 meeting that drew more than 100 people in the town of fewer than 4,000 residents.

Beecher was turned down for a different vacancy Sept. 18 and a man was voted in, after Councilmen Kurt Carson and Jim Alworth questioned Beecher’s ability to balance family and work.

Residents rallied in internet forums and public comments to support Beecher, an economic development official who narrowly lost a bid for a council seat in 2018.

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Information from: Ely Times, http://www.elynews.com