YPSILANTI (WWJ/AP) – Three members of a Michigan city council have abstained from voting on a measure that would have prevented them from abstaining on future votes.

AnnArbor.com reports that Ypsilanti City Council member Pete Murdock proposed a resolution Tuesday that would have required council members to only vote “yes” or “no” on each issue unless they had a financial or professional conflict.

Mayor Paul Schreiber and council members Susan Moeller and Brian Robb abstained from the vote to show their disapproval of the resolution.

Robb said council members should have the right to sit out a vote whenever they choose.

“If someone wants to sit up here and abstain from every vote, their constituents will judge them for that,” Robb said.

The resolution failed, with Murdock and another City Council member voting “yes” while two other council members voted “no.”

Mayor Pro Tem Lois Richardson, who voted no, moved to have the resolution set aside, stating she was concerned it would create a “divided council.”

“I would rather not see us do things that would divide us,” Richardson said. “If we really want to see the city move forward, we have to work together.”

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