Aumsville will head into the new year one person short of a full city council.
Nico Casarez (940 votes) and Della Seney (870) easily were re-elected to new terms, but no one came forward to run for the third open seat.
Nearly 200 write-in votes were tabulated by the Marion County Elections Office, with incumbent Mayor Derek Clevenger leading the way with 13 votes. Clevenger chose not to seek re-election because he was planning to run for Oregon House District 17. However, he later dropped out of the House race.
Under the city charter the council seat goes to the individual with the highest write-in vote, should that person accept the seat, said Colleen Rogers, city clerk for Aumsville.
However, Clevenger said no to the council seat and the new council will appoint someone at the Jan. 9 meeting, Rogers said.
And although “Derek Clevenger” officially had 13 write-in votes it seems the intent was there for at least a few more. Two persons voted for “Clevenger”, and one voted for “Derick Clevenger”.
Council President Angelica Ceja will take over for Clevenger as mayor. She ran unopposed and received 979 votes. The new council also will have to arrange for her replacement.
Sitting Councilors Walter Wick and Scott Lee were not on the ballot because their terms do not expire until 2024.
