Skaug sworn in as Moses Lake council member

MOSES LAKE — New Moses Lake City Council member Dave Skaug was formally sworn in as a member of the council and Deanna Martinez was named the city’s new deputy mayor at a regular council meeting on Tuesday.

Skaug was sworn in by Grant County Superior Court Judge Anna Gigliotti, who also formally administered the oath of office to Mayor Don Myers.

Council members also voted to retain the requirement that mayors have two years of experience on the city council before being eligible to serve as mayor. However, the council did vote to do away with the two-year requirement for the town’s deputy mayor.

Under the city’s form of government, the seven-member council selects one of its own to serve as mayor for a two-year term. At a previous meeting, council members expressed concern that the two-year requirement would make it difficult to select a mayor should a large number of council positions turn over during an election as they did in 2021 when city voters selected four new members of the city’s governing body.

“After evaluating the position, the council recognized it’s good to be in a council meeting in order to run a council meeting,” said City Manager Allison Williams. “Your chairperson does make a difference.”

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com.