Well, that didn’t take long.

Amarillo City Council members interviewed five finalists today for the vacancy on the body that will occur when Dr. Brian Eades hits the road.

Then the council chose the head of Leadership Amarillo, Lisa Blake, to fill the seat that Dr. Eades will vacate.

It wasn’t a unanimous vote. Councilman Randy Burkett voted “no” to appoint Blake.

Whatever the case, I guess we’re getting used to split votes on the governing body, which saw its makeup changed dramatically after the May 2015 municipal election.

This council member selection process was an interesting and enlightening exercise. The five individuals spoke to the council in full public view. They all answered the same set of 10 questions. I wasn’t there today, so I cannot comment on the quality of everyone’s answers.

I did visit today, though, with a community leader who did listen to the interviews and he came away quite impressed with Blake’s presentation, her background and her potential as a city leader.

http://www.newschannel10.com/story/32430303/blake-appointed-to-place-2-seat

What happens now? How will Councilwoman-designate Blake work with this new council?

The City Council has been a contentious group at times. Indeed, it took power amid some fairly shrill rhetoric, which included calls for then-City Manager Jarrett Atkinson to quit and for the dismissal of the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation board.

It’s been a bit of a bumpy ride — at times — for the past year.

So now, we have a fourth new member of the council about to take office.

I am heartened to know that the new council member has a strong record of civic involvement. Leadership Amarillo has been a stellar organization for a long time and Lisa Blake represents the good work that the organization has done to promote a new generation of civic leaders.

Let’s see now what she can do on behalf of her new constituents.

She’s got 200,000 of them out here who need steady, strong and civil leadership at City Hall.