Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Kowalkowski opts against taking job
DAVENPORT — The next city Mayor will be decided by the city council. J.J. Kowalkowski officially gave the city his notice that he won’t be taking the mayoral job Tuesday, Nov. 21.
Kowalkowski defeated incumbent Brad Sweet in a contested mayoral race 218 votes to 190 in the 2023 General Election.
The announcement of Kowalkowski declining the gig came at city council’s Nov. 22 meeting, along with the news that the process now falls to city council to select the next Mayor.
That decision must come before the end of 2023, or the city will be mayor-less entering 2024, as Sweet’s current 4-year term expires at the end of the calendar year.
The city plans to hold open interviews for any candidates interested in being Mayor at the next council meeting Wednesday, Dec. 13. Council would then likely select a candidate after executive session that night, with the selection being sworn in at the last council meeting of the year Wednesday, Dec. 27.
Sweet said at council’s meeting he intends to apply to retain the job, while councilman Jonathan Chapman said he also plans to apply. Any citizen of voting age living in city limits is eligible to apply to be Mayor.
Kowalkowski signed his election to not take office as elected Mayor in a notarized document per state RCW 42.12.010(6), which states that “every elective office shall become vacant on the happening of any of the following events: His or her refusal or neglect to take his or her oath of office, or to give or renew his or her official bond, or to deposit such oath or bond within the time prescribed by law.”
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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