The Gillette City Council voted to make Eric Hanson the new mayor after a city council meeting on Feb. 1. The position had been filled by former council president Nathan McLeland since Jan. 7 afterformer mayor Louise Carter-King resigned on Jan. 6.
The resignation stemmed from a lengthy series of text messages that former City Administrator Patrick Davidson sent to the city council, the city clerk, and other unnamed individuals in which Carter-King made many disparaging remarks about those in both public and private life.
Hanson said he is looking to dispel any notions during his tenure as mayor that there are dealings being hidden from the public.
“My big push or my big plan is to just fix the public perception of the city council and the mayor—I think some of the people are apprehensive of city government and I want to put those questions in their mind to rest.” he said. “We are trying to be as transparent as possible to get rid of that notion that there’s stuff behind the scenes.”
The city council has also commissioned a review of itself during the last months of Carter-King’s tenure. The City of Cheyenne has agreed to conduct the review, which is slated to conclude in March and is only looking at the conduct of the city council over the last months of Carter-King's term, not the former mayor.
Hanson said he is not planning any major changes to city hall during his 11-month tenure.
“[I’m] not planning on doing any crazy changes, off-the-wall stuff, we’re just wanting to provide the great services that Gillette has been able to provide for 40 plus years and set the next council and mayor up for success,” he said.
Hanson also says he doesn’t plan on running for a full mayoral term, but would consider possibly running again for the city council.
“Sitting on the outside [after two years], I guess I’ll see where we’re at. If they’re doing a good job [whomever fills the vacancy], then I’ll let them continue to let them do it, and if they’re not meeting my expectations, I might run again,” he said.
The city council also voted to keep councilman Shay Lundvall as council president. Acting mayor Nathan McLeland, who was previously council president, also put forth his name for the mayoral position.
The council position vacated by Hanson will be filled in an election in May. He said the city will be accepting applications beginning on Feb. 7th, which will last three weeks. Once the election is held in May, the winner will serve in the Ward 3 seat until November, when normally scheduled elections are held. Whoever occupies the seat at the time can decide to run again for a term lasting two years, which completes Hanson’s original council term. The seat may also be filled by a candidate who runs for the election in November if the incumbent decides not to run or is defeated for re-election.
Hanson will formally be sworn in as mayor on Feb. 4th.
