The contentious relationship between the four trustees and Mayor Ian Banks heated up when Banks attempted to name Yagel to replace Lasker.
Banks and Yagel claimed Lasker forfeited his seat when he didn't meet the deadline to take the oath of office after winning in September. Lasker and the trustees' attorney denied the claim, leading to separate meetings run by Banks and Yagel and the official sessions by the four trustees.
In unofficial tallies, Lasker and Greenberg received 475 and 476 votes, respectively. Yagel, a former mayor and trustee who recently lost a Legislature contest, and Wilson got 259 and 273.
Yagel, who has been critical of Lasker and the trustees, advised the "new board – as difficult as it may be at times – to represent all the people and not the special interests."