MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — Kyoko Matsumoto Wright will serve as the mayor of Mountlake Terrace through 2019, after longtime Mayor Jerry Smith’s death earlier this month, city officials said.
Matsumoto Wright was the mayor pro tem, and city codes say she will serve out the remaining time on Smith’s term as mayor. A real estate broker, she was appointed to the council in 2008, and has been elected three times to keep the seat since then.
The Mountlake Terrace City Council selects one of its seven members to serve as mayor every two years.
Additionally, Smith’s City Council seat, Position 2, is vacant.
The council next meets Thursday. Among other tasks, it will need to set aside time to decide on a new mayor pro tem, though that could happen at a later meeting, city manager Scott Hugill said.
The council also is expected to discuss the Position 2 opening.
Historically, council openings involve a call for applicants followed by an appointment, Hugill said. Candidates must be 18, registered to vote and have lived in the city for at least a year.
Whomever is appointed would have the option of running in 2019 for the remainder of the term. Council members serve four-year terms, and Position 2 is up for election in 2021.
The city’s population is around 21,000 and growing and has a Link light rail connection on the way.
Smith, 77, had led Mountlake Terrace’s mayor-council government since 2004. He was first elected to the council in 2001.
A U.S. Army veteran and former Seattle police officer, Smith lived in town for more than 40 years.
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