Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Do you want to be the Mayor of Davenport? Now’s your chance.
Okay, maybe that’s overstating things a little bit. But the citizens of Davenport have a unique opportunity to civically involve themselves in city business, whether it’s by throwing their name in the hat for the mayoral role themselves or by showing up to next week’s city council meeting to voice their opinions to the council on who else should take the Mayor job.
In case you’re confused about what I’m even talking about, a little refresher.
Back in May, during the annual filing week in which prospective electoral candidates file their names to run for office, 8-year incumbent Mayor Brad Sweet dropped his name in the hat for another 4-year term. But Sweet would have a challenger, as J.J. Kowalkowski also filed for Mayor.
That challenge appeared to be short-lived, as Kowalkowski then announced he intended to withdraw from the race. But due to state rules, he remained on the General Election ballot after not pulling his name out with the Elections Office within the Monday after filing week.
A rather short deadline to withdraw, if you ask me, but let’s avoid too many rabbit trails here.
And as luck would have it, Kowalkowski won the election. It was close, but a slim majority of citizens who bothered to vote dotted the black circle next to the name of the man who said he wanted to withdraw, as Kowalkowski had 218 votes to Sweet’s 190 when the election was certified Nov. 28.
After some deliberation, Kowalkowski stuck to his word. He said in May that he didn’t want to be Mayor after all, and he maintained that opinion in a final, notarized decision two days before Thanksgiving.
So now, the decision for who will be Mayor when the calendar flips to 2024 falls onto city council. The city is accepting applications for the job through 5 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12, and the council is expected to hold public interviews of the applicants at the regular meeting the following night Wednesday, Dec. 13.
Anyone over the age of 18 who is registered to vote and resides within city limits could file their name. So, if you’re feeling the tug of serving your city by applying to be Mayor, I might encourage you to take the leap and toss your name in the ring.
If you want to be involved in the mayoral process but don’t want to be Mayor yourself, showing up to city council’s meeting for mayoral interviews at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 13 would be displaying a strong sense of civic duty.
Ultimately, the interviews of candidates and subsequent decision falls on the city councilmembers present at the meeting who haven’t applied to be Mayor themselves.
But those councilmembers were elected to represent the people of Davenport, and a civically attune community might do well to pack the City Hall chambers next Wednesday night, offer their public comment in support of a preferred candidate, or simply bear witness to the proceedings to learn who council decides will be your next Mayor.
I’ll be there, and I hope to see you there, too.
Drew Lawson is the Managing Editor of the Lincoln County Record-Times. He can be reached at drew@cheneyfreepress.com.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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