In a surprise announcement, Judy Augsburger resigned her position as Bluffton mayor at the conclusion of Monday’s council meeting (Dec. 18).
Her resignation was not on the agenda distributed on Friday. However, it must not have been a total surprise to the council because at the end of the meeting she was presented a plaque for her years as mayor by Richard Johnson.
Upon the resignation of a mayor, the council president assumes the mayoral position. Johnson, council president, was immediately sworn in as mayor upon Augsburger resignation.
Monday’s meeting was the final regularly scheduled meeting of 2017, although special meetings could be called.
The timing of Augsburger’s resignation is coupled with three council members terms that expire on Dec. 31. Those three are Sean Burrell, Ralph Miller and Roger Warren. Each of those three were defeated in the November general election.
On Jan. 1 Jerry Cupples, Mitch Kingsley and David Steiner join council each with four-year terms. They will join Joe Sehlhorst and Phill Talavinia, whose terms are up in two years.
With a vacancy on council several things could now take place:
• the current council (Burrell, Miller, Warren, Sehlhorst, Talavinia) could name a replacement for Johnson
• in January, the newly sworn in council (Cupples, Kingsley, Sehlhorst, Steiner, Talavinia) could name Johnson’s replacement
• if council does not name a replacement for Johnson within 30 days, Mayor Johnson will select his own replacement.
Johnson was first appointed to council and then ran unopposed in 2016. At that time he won a four-year council term. Augsburger was also earlier appointed as mayor. She ran for the position in 2016 against Jerry Cupples and David Steiner. She defeated those two, but not by a plurality.
