With the resignation of Creston Mayor Waylon Clayton effective Monday, Sept. 22, the city turns to city code in dealing with the vacancy.
Immediately following the resignation, Mayor Pro-Tem Richard Madison will serve as mayor. To fill the position of mayor for the rest of Clayton’s term, which ends Dec. 31, 2027, an appointment must be made or a special election must be held.
Creston city code defaults to appointment by Creston City Council to fill the position. The council has 60 days following the vacancy to fill the position. Any Creston resident can be appointed to the position of mayor but must be approved by the majority of the city council.
If the council intends to make an appointment, they must publish a notice of intent between four to 20 days before the appointment. In that notice will be information on the right petition.
In order for a special election to be held instead of an appointment, a mayoral candidate must submit a petition to the city clerk within 14 days after the notice of intent or within 14 days after the appointment is made. Petition paperwork can be found on the secretary of state’s website. This candidate must be a Creston resident and have 25 signatures in support.
Scheduling a special election may be difficult, as it cannot align with the November local elections or the June gubernatorial primaries.
The last time time a vacancy occurred was in 2019 with former-Mayor Gary Lybarger.
In 2015, Lybarger defeated incumbent Warren Woods by 45 votes to become Creston’s mayor. Resigning in April 2019, Lybarger left with only eight months left in his term.
Councilman Steve Wintermute was appointed mayor 3-2 the following month, serving in the position until Gabe Carroll was elected mayor in the Nov. 5, 2019, election.
The council has until Nov. 21 to appoint a new mayor. The next council meeting is 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7.