MOSES LAKE — First-term Moses Lake City Council member Mike Norman resigned from his post at the end of Tuesday evening’s council meeting.

Norman, whose term was set to expire at the end of 2019, defeated Greg “Speedy” Nevarez for Position No. 7 on the council in the 2015 general election. At the end of Tuesday night’s council meeting Norman handed a resignation letter to City Manager John Williams and Mayor Karen Liebrecht. In the letter Norman offers his apologies to the supporters of his election campaign, stating he is currently unable to fulfill the duties that are expected of a council member.

“They expected me to serve out a full four years, but I am unable to do so. As we all know life is full of unexpected events which cause us at times to change direction. This is one of those times,” Norman states.

“Nonetheless, I want to thank this community for giving me the opportunity to serve. I hope that my actions on this council have helped make our city a better place to live for all of us. I would also like to thank the other council members and the city administration for their proactive issues-oriented approach to doing business. It has been a pleasure to work with you all. I congratulate you all on your success and wish you even greater success in the coming years.”

Norman’s resignation puts the council in an all too familiar place of not being at full strength. For a number of months in 2017 the council had a total of five members, opposed to the traditional number of seven, after the resignations of former council member Bill Ecret in July and Mayor Todd Voth in August.

The council will be discussing the options they have to fill the seat, or to keep it vacant, at a future council meeting.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.