While 91原创 City Coun. Dave Hall鈥檚 sudden resignation on Monday came as a surprise, his decision to step away from his duties to focus on his health is completely understandable.
And we certainly wish him all the best for a full and quick recovery.
But his abrupt departure leaves more than just an empty chair at the council table.
Hall has consistently been a dissenting voice on City council during his seven-year tenure.
His stubborn insistence on detailed debate often got under other councillors鈥� skin, no question.
In announcing the resignation, the mayor acknowledged that Hall and the other six members of council regularly found themselves on opposite sides of an issue 鈥� but not at the expense of councillors鈥� mutual respect.
The role he played is not always easy or comfortable, but it is important
And though Hall often seemed to delight in his role of gadfly, his motive, from what we could tell, was more to ensure that council remained transparent and that people attending meetings or watching at home had a firm grasp of the issues under discussion.
In his absence, it鈥檚 our hope that whoever is elected in February to fill Hall鈥檚 seat will be willing to take on that role 鈥� to some degree at least.
Or perhaps it will fall to another, sitting, councillor.
That鈥檚 not to say that every issue has to be discussed, debated and dissected to the nth degree, but clearly, Hall鈥檚 contribution was valued by the electorate, who placed him at the the top of the polls among council candidates in the 2014 election.
Hall is now facing what has been described as a 鈥渟ignificant鈥� battle with cancer 鈥� those are frightening words.
But if there is one thing we鈥檝e learned about the former City councillor, it鈥檚 that he definitely isn鈥檛 one to back away from a fight.
