 This led to the passage of an ordinance allowing anyone who can obtain 20 registered voters to sign a petition in their favor to be able to register with the city for a vacant seat.The petition was added to get the vote of council member Nate Bates, who considered passing the law without such a requirement would turn the city council appointments into an "American Idol" style circus.Mayor McLaughlin voted against this measure since she thought the city needed to overhaul the process entirely to make it more democratic.