STANWOOD — Elizabeth Callaghan could hardly keep the emotion off her face after being appointed the new mayor of Stanwood during a city council meeting Thursday evening.
“I was entirely overjoyed and totally humbled at the same time,” she said on Friday.
The city council appointed Callaghan to the vacant position following nearly 90 minutes of private executive session, council discussion and voting. Callaghan will fill the remaining year and a half of former Mayor Leonard Kelley’s term which expires at the end of 2021.
Kelley, the mayor of Stanwood since 2014, resigned earlier this month for health reasons.
Callaghan, a teacher at the Grace Academy in Marysville, has split her last decade between the Stanwood City Council, from 2012 to 2013 and since 2016, and the city Planning Commission, from 2010 to 2011 and again from 2013 to 2015.
“I think the mayor should be somebody in any town, that when you pass by them in the grocery store, you feel comfortable saying hello to,” Callaghan said. “I think a smile goes a long way and a kind word goes even farther.”
Councilmembers Rob Johnson and Sid Roberts also submitted applications to fill the vacancy. Applicants did not participate in the executive session, but did vote in the decision.
Only sitting members of the city council were allowed to apply for the mayoral vacancy after a decision to close applications during the July 9 council meeting.
The mayor of Stanwood makes $1,500 a month for the part-time role.
Callaghan said her priorities as mayor would include increasing citizen involvement with city government, examining the possibility of bringing a parks director to Stanwood to improve the parks department and encouraging friendliness across the town.
“One of the biggest obstacles for people is feeling like they don’t understand how they can get involved,” Callaghan said. “I am really interested in talking to city staff and asking, what are other ways we can break this down for people, so that they know you can just come and talk to us.”
While Callaghan wasn’t officially sworn in until Friday, during the mayor’s report, mayor pro tem Dianne White unofficially ceded control to Callaghan by congratulating her as the second woman mayor in the history of Stanwood. White was the first woman mayor when she served from 2006 to 2013.
“I think it is fantastic to have a woman serving as mayor,” Callaghan said. “I like that as a young woman coming up in politics, having been on city council or planning commission for the past 10 years, to be a role model to other young women and show them there is no reason you can’t get involved.”
The council is now responsible for appointing a city resident to Callaghan’s vacated position.
Applications for the open council position are available at stanwoodwa.org/487/City-Council-Vacancy until 5 p.m. Aug. 16. Candidates will then be reviewed and a decision is expected during the Sept. 10 meeting of the city council.
Ian Davis-Leonard: 425-339-3448; idavisleonard@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @IanDavisLeonard.
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