The city of Cortez on April 28 bid farewell to outgoing councilors and ushered in the recently elected council through a Zoom meeting.
“To those of you about to serve, I appreciate it,” said Ty Keel, one of three outgoing councilors. “You have grit.” The others leaving the post were Gary Noyes and Karen Sheek, who served as mayor for several years.
Also Tuesday, the council voted unanimously incumbent Councilor Mike Lavey to take on the role of mayor, and for newly elected Councilor Rachel Medina to serve as mayor pro tem.
In the April 7 election, voters filled four seats on the council left by Keel, Noyes, Sheek and Jill Carlson. Carlson resigned in December, and incumbent Sue Betts was reelected. Arlina Yazzie, David Rainey, Amy Huckins and Medina were elected to their first terms.
Sheek and Keel were both term-limited this spring and could not seek reelection. Keel was elected in 2012 for a four-year term and reelected in 2016 for another four years. Sheek was appointed to the council in October 2011 and elected in 2012 and 2016 for four-year terms.
“This has been a wonderful experience, and I will be forever grateful for having had the opportunity to be able to serve on council and to be able to serve as mayor for this community for the last several years,” Sheek said.
Noyes was elected in April 2018 for a two-year term, but decided not to seek reelection.
“Two years ago, sitting in the seat that the new members are sitting in, I didn’t know what to expect, and I learned a ton, working with a lot of great people,” Noyes said.
City Clerk Linda Smith recounted some of the issues the councilors had faced over the past decade, from retail marijuana shops to the land use code to the electric vehicle charging station.
“It’s been a pleasure for me,” she said.
The farewell party for outgoing councilors, originally scheduled for the April 28 meeting, has been reschedules for May 12.
