A pressing task for the Mountlake Terrace City Council at its first meeting in 2019 is to start the process for appointing someone to fill the term of the late City Councilmember and Mayor Jerry Smith, who died Dec. 14 at the age of 77.
According to City Manager Scott Hugill, the council will discuss the process for filling the Position 2 vacancy during its Jan. 3 meeting. In the past, that process has included an application and interview with the council, Hugill said.
As for the job of mayor, under the city’s code Mayor Pro Tem Kyoko Matsumoto Wright automatically becomes mayor, and will fulfill the remainder of the mayor’s two-year term, which runs through 2019, Hugill said.
State law dictates the requirements of who can apply for the open council seat, the city manager added. Any applicant must be a registered voter and a city resident who has lived in Mountlake Terrace for at least one year preceding his or her appointment.
Under state law, the appointment should be made within 90 days of the vacancy’s occurrence; if it is not, the city council loses its authority to do so and the Snohomish County Council — within 180 days of the vacancy’s occurrence — makes the appointment.
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