Same mayor, different vice

Terry Weickum will retain the seat of mayor for two more years following the January 3 meeting of the Rawlins City Council while Steve Sanger will serve as vice-mayor for the same period.

The nominations for mayor and vice-mayor came following the swearing in of Steve Sanger, Bruce Seilaff and Jacquelin Wells and a 32 minute executive session. Both Wells and Weickum were nominated for the mayor seat. Wells was nominated by Councilmember Darill Garner and Weickum was nominated by Sanger. The nomination for Wells failed by a vote of 2-4 and the nomination for Weickum passed by a vote of 4-2.

Garner himself was nominated for vice-mayor by Wells while Sanger was nominated by Councilmember Chris Weisenburg. The nomination for Garner failed on a tie vote of 3-3 while the nomination for Sanger passed on a vote of 4-2.

Because the votes were done by secret ballot, it is not known who voted yay or nay for the respective mayor and vice-mayor candidates.

Notably absent was Tonya Lewman, who was elected in Ward 2 over Councilmember Linda Smith. Lewman addressed allegations of campaign violations under public comment, stating she had received a donation from Rose Cain, owner of Dirty Boyz Sanitation. According to Lewman, the check made out to her campaign came from Dirty Boyz and not Cain herself. Under Wyoming State Law, an organization is not allowed to donate directly to a candidate or candidate committees. While Lewman said she returned the check, it appears the matter must go before the Secretary of State's office.

With Smith's term officially at an end, this leaves Ward 2 residents with limited representation on the Rawlins City Council. Garner also represents Ward 2. Ward 3 is now represented by Sanger and Weisenburg while Ward 1 is now represented by Weickum and Seilaff. Wells' seat is at-large.