Port Angeles delays mayor and deputy mayor selections after council split

Mayor Kate Dexter opened the Jan. 6 Port Angeles City Council meeting by noting that newly elected council member Mark Hodgson was absent for work and the body proceeded with ceremonial swearing in of members present. After remarks and nominations, Council Member Amy nominated incumbent Kate Dexter for mayor and Council Member Latricia Suggs nominated Navar Kaur.

Navar Kaur accepted the nomination and outlined a platform of facilitating respectful deliberation, building leadership among council members, and planning meetings to allow adequate time for discussion. Council members then used a verbal ranked-choice approach to record first and second preferences.

City staff advised that, because the council is not at full membership this evening, a tied outcome is likely and that the prudent course is to delay the decision until a full seven-member council can break any tie. A motion to elect a candidate — recorded in the transcript as a motion to elect “Navarro Carr” — was seconded but failed for lack of a majority. Council then voted unanimously to continue the mayor and deputy mayor elections to the Jan. 20 meeting so the full council can participate.

Mayor Dexter said that if no one is elected when no majority emerges, the current officeholder remains in place until a successor is chosen. Council members discussed the mechanics of documenting a tie and whether to record an official tie before deferring; one council member said he wanted a formal record of a tie, while others preferred to postpone until all members are present.

The council’s formal motion to continue the appointments to the Jan. 20 meeting passed without opposition. The transcript contains inconsistent name spellings for one nominee (the packet and nominations refer to "Navar Kaur" while a later motion uses a different spelling); council members and staff did not resolve that discrepancy during the meeting.