Swisher to fill mayor's seat via special election

Some Swisher residents say a special city council meeting held Monday night gave them no further insight into the abrupt resignation of a city official and staff member last week.  City council members called the meeting to temporarily fill the seats of Mayor Tim Mason and City Clerk Connie Meier, who resigned during the regular council meeting.

The council decided on Monday to hold a special election to select a new mayor. Swisher resident Eugene Beard also presented a petition to the council Monday night to hold a special election.

Council member Michael Stagg said the council was largely in favor of holding a special election rather than appointing a council member to be mayor. Stagg said he and other council members each had their own reasons for not stepping into the mayor's seat.

“At this time, like myself, I've only been on the council for five months and I'm still kind of in the process of learning things as I go here,” said Stagg, who was appointed earlier this year and elected during city elections earlier this month.

Stagg said a special election would be the simplest course to take. If the council appointed someone to be mayor, they would still have to appoint or hold a special election for the vacant council seat.

The council will meet Dec. 9 to set the special election, which will be held in January.  Whoever is elected will serve the remaining two years in Mason's term.

Swisher resident Sheryl Wilwol, who attended Monday night's meeting, said she's glad a special election will be held.

"I think that's important because it's all of our choices that way," she said. "Citizens will get a say."

Council member Mary Gudenkauf will take on all mayoral responsibilities until a new one is elected.

The council also appointed engineering firm HR Green to manage the city clerk position in addition to the city's engineering matters.  The council is putting together an official job posting to permanently fill the job, but Stagg said he didn't know when it would be filled.

Swisher resident Daryl Hynek said Monday night's meeting was quick and fairly "anticlimactic."  He said he was among many other residents that came to get answers on why the mayor and city clerk resigned. The 70-year-old said he left feeling "it didn't accomplish anything."

"I think it was pretty much (the council) didn't want anything public," Wilwol said.

Stagg said he won't comment on the resignations, since he was absent at the meeting when they occurred. He said he doesn't know if facts behind the resignations will ever surface, but says the council isn't going to dwell on the past.“I don't know if that'll come out sometime in the future,” Stagg said. “I think right now the council is concerned with moving forward with what we have to do and what's important for the town.”