ROYAL CITY — The torch was passed at the Royal city City Council meeting Tuesday, as Council Member Michael Christensen was sworn in as the city’s new mayor.

Christensen replaced Mayor P. Kent Anderson, who announced his resignation last month.

Only two council members, Christensen and Ryan Piercy, were present in the flesh Tuesday. Council Members Perla Garcia and Rick Kannely attended on speakerphone, and Council Member Hector Rodriguez was absent.

“My understanding is that there's two options,” Christensen said in the meeting. “One is that, as a council, we can appoint somebody to serve in that capacity, or we can go out and advertise it and receive applicants and go that way.”

“We filled the position I'm in through appointment just by voting on it,” Kannely said. “ And I think the same with Ryan. Neither one of us went through an election process. I don't see that we need an election process if we are in accord on who should be the mayor.”

“My opinion is that if there's someone in our council now that either is already in the position or is interested in the position, then I think that we should talk about it and appoint it, like Rick says,” Garcia said.

“How long are you sticking around? Forever?” Piercy asked Christensen with a grin.

“I’m here until I leave,” Christensen said. “I’m willing to (serve as mayor). It's not something that I got on the council to pursue. I do have a little bit of discretionary time that I can commit to it, and I'm willing to do that, but there may be others in the council that can do likewise.”

“I would nominate Michael Christensen,” Kannely said as a motion..

Piercy seconded that motion.

“I’ll third that,” Garcia said. “If Michael's willing to take on the responsibility, and (if) you have the time. You’ve been doing a good job, I feel like, on the council and so I feel comfortable.”

The vote was unanimous in favor and City Finance Director Shilo Christensen administered the oath of office.

Properly speaking, Christensen’s title is mayor pro tem, Grant County Election Deputy Aleanah Lopez told the Columbia Basin Herald in an interview last month. He will serve out the remainder of Andersen’s four-year term, which is up for election again in 2025.

With Christensen serving as mayor, his council seat automatically becomes vacant, City Attorney Katherine Kineson told the council.

“So it's up to (the) council now to decide how they want to seek a replacement, whether they want to advertise or establish some sort of formal process to take letters of application and conduct interviews,” Kenison said. “There's no statutory requirements, so it's up to (the) council's discretion.”

The vacancy needs to be filled within 90 days, she added.

“What we've done in the past is post something on Facebook,” Shilo Christensen said. “It's a simple message: council members seeking council member. We can also post an ad in the newspapers.”

“We can talk about when we're all together (at a future meeting),” the new mayor said.

Michael Christensen grew up in Royal City, he said in an interview Wednesday. He and his wife Lisa have four children and nine grandchildren. Christensen retired a couple of years ago when he sold the family business, Saddle Mountain Supply, he said, and that was when he decided to run for city council.

“I had a bit more time on my hands and the seat was coming up,” he said. “And I think we all feel the pull for helping our communities in some fashion.”

Christensen said he doesn’t really have an agenda for the city as he moves forward, but he hopes to see infrastructure and city services keep up as the community’s needs evolve. Royal City is in good shape financially, he added, and he wants to see the city exercise caution with taxpayer money so it will continue to be.

“There's just a community spirit that's been here,” Christensen said. “You know, my parents were some of the original settlers in this area. And I really credit it to them, that kind of pioneer spirit … It's a great community. It's an honor to serve in this capacity.”

Joel Martin may be reached via email at jmartin@columbiabasinherald.com.