The Iowa City City Council appointed two new members to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission at Monday’s city council meeting following the resignations of Truth and Reconciliation Commission members Amel Ali and Daphney Daniel.

Ali emailed her resignation to the Iowa City City Council on Sept. 28, and Daniel’s resignation was submitted in August.

Before her resignation, Ali was suspended from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Aug. 4 after her use of a racial slur on the podcast “Rock Hard Caucus.” Daniel resigned a week before Ali’s suspension due to personal and health reasons.

Several councilors spoke in favor of two specific applicants, Marie Krebs and Lauren Merritt.

Councilor Pauline Taylor’s motion to appoint Krebs and Merritt passed unanimously. Both appointees’ terms are effective upon appointment and end on June 30, 2023.

“I can appreciate wanting to give folks some more time to be aware that we have the second vacancy, but I’m also aware of the fact that this poor commission has just had so many obstacles and roadblocks and we really need to get them in full swing,” Taylor said.

Mayor Bruce Teague said there were a total of six people who applied to fill the vacancies. 

“[Krebs] was recommended by Christine Nobiss, who’s a current commission member, and I think that always speaks highly if a current commission member feels that strongly about someone that they think they can work with,” Taylor said. “So I would agree Marie would be a great fit.”

Mayor Pro Tem Megan Alter suggested Merritt as a qualified second candidate.

“There were a couple of others, but one person who I thought could be an interesting and good fit on the commission is Lauren Merritt,” Alter said. “… She has clearly had a long-time career, and I think that could speak well to the current dynamic to sort of bring an additional perspective of someone who has a lot of experience in civil service.”