St. George City Council elects interim mayor

ST. GEORGE — Tuesday afternoon, after interviewing 23 candidates, the St. George City Council elected Michele Randall as interim mayor – the first female to ever be elected mayor in the city’s history.

L-R: Michele Randall and the late Joe Bowcutt are sworn in as they begin second terms on the St. George City Council, St. George, Utah, Jan. 2, 2018 | File photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

The position opened after former Mayor Jon Pike resigned Jan. 4, after accepting a role in Gov. Spencer Cox’s cabinet. Randall, who becomes the first female mayor to be elected in St. George, will serve until the term is up in Jan. 2022. She said she planned to run for mayor this fall, so applying for interim mayor made sense.

“I knew that if ran now, I was going to run in November,” Randall said. “I talked a lot with my husband, and he supported my decision. So, I’m prepared.”

Randall is no stranger to St. George government, having served on the City Council for seven years before being chosen as interim mayor.

“We have amazing department heads and a very capable city manager,” she said. “They do the heavy lifting; I’m just there to support them.”

Though the interim mayor’s term is limited, Randall will still have plenty to do. The mayor presides over council meetings, votes in the case of a tie amongst council members and may call special council meetings as needed, among other duties.

The mayor may also, in the case of emergency, limit the use of water and call upon residents of St. George to help enforce state laws and municipal ordinances.

The mayor is technically a part-time job; the mayor earns $50,000 a year, while council members earn $20,000.

The next mayoral election will begin in the fall, with the mayor elect taking office in early January. That’s just a little over 10 months out. Randall said she intends to run then, too.

But for now, she said she’s focused on transitioning into her new role as interim mayor.

“I think St. George is an amazing place to live,” she said. “I’m going to work to keep it that way. And I don’t think we’ll miss a beat.”

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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