Sultan’s mayor to resign to focus on new duties

Published 1:30 am Saturday, October 7, 2017

SULTAN — Mayor Carolyn Eslick has announced she will resign at the end of the month to focus on her new duties as a state representative.

Eslick, who was appointed to a vacant state House seat last month, said her final day in the city post will be Oct. 31. She was elected mayor in 2007 and been re-elected twice.

City Councilman John Seehus will take over as interim mayor. He is currently mayor pro-tem.

The City Council will have 90 days from the time Eslick leaves office to choose a successor and it might need most of that time to reach a decision.

Five of the seven council members want the job. Seehus said he along with Rocky Walker, Russell Wiita, Joe Neigel and Jeffrey Beeler are all interested. It could take several council votes before any one of them receives the necessary majority to secure the appointment.

If the council cannot make a decision in those 90 days, then the Snohomish County Council will choose the next mayor.

“I can’t even fathom that,” Seehus said. “We have a really functional council right now. We’re very reasonable folks, all level-headed.”

Wiita said it’s just the beginning of the conversation. The landscape might look different in the coming weeks.

“It would surprise me if at the end of 90 days all five of us were still interested,” he said.

No date for a vote has been set and the two councilmen said they didn’t expect a decision until next year. That’s because Seehus and Walker are seeking re-election next month. If they win Nov. 7, their new terms start in January.

Whoever is appointed will complete Eslick’s term, which runs through Dec. 31, 2019.

In the meantime, she said she’s staying out of the selection process but is pleased so many on the council want the job.

“Never before have we had so much interest. That in itself is a great thing for the city,” she said. “I am not going to be recommending anyone. Every one of them would bring some strength to the office.”

Eslick, a Republican, was appointed Sept. 20 to fill the vacancy in the 39th Legislative District created by the resignation of John Koster. She now serves on the Capital Budget and the Early Learning and Human Services committees.

Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield @herald net.com. Twitter: @dospueblos.