Sweet Home councilors sworn in; Susan Coleman chosen mayor, Josh Thorstad named president pro tem

Four new members of the Sweet Home City Council were sworn into office and the council elected a mayor and president pro tem during its meeting.

Angelina Sanchez, Ken Bronson, Chelsea Augsburger and Aaron Hagee each took the oath of office administered at the council meeting. “I will faithfully discharge the duties of councilor,” each swearing-in included, repeated by the new councilors during the ceremony.

The swearing-in was followed by nominations and two roll-call votes for council leadership. Councilor Dylan Richards was nominated for mayor but the nomination failed on a 4-3 roll call. The council then nominated and elected Susan Coleman as mayor on a 4-3 vote. Separately, after several nominations and a declined nomination, Josh Thorstad was elected president pro tem on a 4-3 roll call.

Why it matters: The swearing-in makes newly elected members official and the leadership votes determine who will preside over council meetings and represent the city in certain ceremonial and administrative roles until the next selection.

The council followed its usual procedure for nominations: a councilor proposes a name, another councilor seconds it, discussion may follow, and then the clerk calls the roll. The failed and successful mayoral nominations were recorded by name in the roll calls. The council also recessed briefly after leadership appointments to allow photographs and informal public interaction. The meeting then continued with the remainder of the agenda.