Lander has a new mayor: city council member Missy White. She was chosen by the council with a 4-2 vote during a special meeting on the evening of Feb. 25, following the unexpected death of Mayor Monte Richardson. That election process is in line with city ordinance.
White has served on the council since 2018, representing Ward 2. She works in leadership development, coaches the local middle school Nordic ski team and has called Lander home since 1988.
During public comment at the meeting, community member Sarah Reilley thanked all of the council members for voting to elect a new mayor and shared her support for White.
“ I hope that you would consider [White] and her leadership and her expertise and experience and vast knowledge,” she said. “Again, that's not disparaging anybody else because I think you're all brilliant.”
Several public commenters urged the council to choose council member Dan Hahn, who’s served on the council for nearly 20 years. Hahn ran for mayor in 2022 and lost to Richardson in that election by about a hundred votes.
“ Based upon the numbers, many voters who voted for you also voted for Dan Hahn,” said community member Kathleen Averill. “I expect you to do the right and ethical thing and uphold the will of the voters by protecting their votes.”
White received votes from council members Julia Stuble, Melinda Cox, John Larsen and voted for herself, while Hahn received votes from Josh Hahn and voted for himself.
Council member Stuble was temporarily appointed mayor last week for the interim before the official “permanent” vote. In a Facebook post following the vote, she shared her reasoning for casting her vote for White.
“One of the reasons many folks gave for supporting Councilman Dan Hahn's nomination for mayor was that he received 47.6% of the vote in the last Mayoral election. That was deeply compelling evidence for many folks that showed the will of the people was for Councilman Hahn,” she wrote. “That point was not compelling to me for this reason: I felt a duty to select a councilmember most closely aligned with the vision and positions of Mayor Richardson, who won that election. In 2022, the voters had a choice between two different visions for Lander when casting their votes for Councilman Hahn and Mayor Richardson and the majority chose Mayor Richardson and his vision. So I cast my vote tonight accordingly.”
White will serve through the 2026 election and will officially swear-in as mayor on March 11th. That’s when the council will start the process of taking in applications to fill her vacant seat.
