PORT ANGELES — The City Council elected Gary Braun mayor for 2008-2009 on a 4-3 vote Tuesday.
Braun, who has been mayor and deputy mayor in the past, was elected over Karen Rogers, mayor for the past two years.
Councilwoman Betsy Wharton was unanimously chosen as deputy mayor.
Voting for Braun were new council members Dan Di Guilio, Don Perry and Cherie Kidd.
Kidd nominated Braun. Braun also voted for himself.
Rogers voted for herself and got the votes of Wharton and Larry Williams, who Wharton replaced as deputy mayor. Williams nominated Rogers to be re-elected as mayor.
The council selects one of its own to be mayor every two years.
While the mayor’s job is largely ceremonial — City Manager Mark Madsen, hired by the full council, runs day-to-day operations — the mayor is considered the public face of the city, chairs the council meetings and plays a large role in shaping the council’s agenda.
The deputy mayor fills in during the mayor’s absence.
While many have hailed Rogers as dynamic and hard-working on tourism and business development projects, she was also seen by some as allied with “the old guard” — two incumbents defeated by Kidd and DiGuilio in last November’s election and former Mayor Richard Headrick, who was defeated by Wharton in 2005.
“I, too, would like to thank Karen for the job she did,” Braun said after receiving the mayor’s gavel.
“She won’t stop being Karen now that she isn’t mayor,” he said.
“She’ll be missed in this position, but it’s time to move on.”
Rogers said on Saturday that she was willing to serve another two years as mayor.
Braun expressed no aspirations for the job, although his name was mentioned around City Hall as a likely candidate for the post.
