John Schoppmann resigned his seat on the Tusayan Town Council August 17^th and moments later was re-appointed to the council.

Schoppmann was originally appointed to fill out Bill Fitzgerald’s term. Technically that term expires when the next election is held in November. On August 17^th Schoppmann was appointed to fill a different term; the one vacated by Craig Sanderson when he resigned to run for mayor. The move keeps Schoppmann on the council for another two years.

As Stilo representative Tom DePaolo looked on, Schoppmann was appointed to the post keeping him on the Town Council for a while longer. Schoppmann is Maintenance Director for Papillon Airways. 

Papillon is owned by Elling Halvorson, who along with Stilo is behind a controversial development project that would add thousands of homes to Tusayan and three million square feet of commercial space. His re-appointment ensures that all current members of the council are employed by Stilo or Halvorson.

When asked why did he resign, Schoppmann said it was to be appointed to the two-year term. “My term ended in November. I was planning on moving so I didn’t put my name in the hat to run. Somebody said the appointment was available. The only way to legally do that is to resign so that I could be appointed because you can’t hold two offices at once.”

One vacancy remains, the seat that was vacated by Fitzgerald, and then by Schoppmann.