LAKE STEVENS – A City Council member will replace Lynn Walty as mayor.
City Council members on Monday all said they would support appointing one of their own to be the next mayor. The opening was created Friday when Walty announced his resignation.
No official action to replace Walty can be taken until he leaves office on Nov. 3.
Walty cited personal and professional reason for stepping down with a year left in his term.
The Lake Stevens mayor is elected every four years.
The council must now appoint someone to complete Walty’s term.”It would probably be in the city’s best interest to appoint someone who knows what’s going on,” Councilwoman Heather Coleman said.
The council could take applications from residents, but several City Council members and city staff said the ramp-up time required from an outsider might impede the city’s current projects.
Before the end of the year, the city is expected to annex 708 acres in the Frontier Village area adding about 3,300 new residents. The city is in the midst of a hiring spree to provide services to the new area.
Moving a City Council member to the mayor’s seat would leave one of the seven council seats open.
That vacancy will be filled by application from a city resident.
Coleman said she would encourage people to apply from the newly annexed north lake area of the soon-to-be annexed Frontier Village area.
Several City Council members have said they would be willing to serve as mayor. None has stepped forward as a candidate.
Celebrations in Walty’s honor are scheduled for the Nov. 6 council workshop session.
The council is expected to vote to replace Walty when it meets on Nov. 13.
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