Coburg has selected its next mayor via write-in votes.
Nancy Bell was serving as City Council president when Coburg mayor Ray Smith died of cancer in October. That made Bell the acting mayor until the end of the year.
But there was no one on the November ballot to take the helm as Coburg mayor starting in January. So Bell, a retired nurse, launched a low-key write-in campaign, and won.
According to Lane County Elections, Bell received 232 of the 356 write-in votes cast for Coburg mayor.
"It is a volunteer position and it takes a lot of time, but I made that decision to go ahead and do a write-in campaign.“ said Bell. "I did not want Mayor Smith’s legacy to fall by the wayside, and I did not want any interruptions in leadership."
Coburg is a city of roughly 1,300 people just north of Eugene. Bell said the biggest issue the community is facing is how to maintain its small-town ambiance in the face of increasing traffic and development pressures.
Meanwhile, Bell and her colleagues on the Coburg city council decided to rename the council chambers in Smith's honor. The public is invited to an open house at city hall starting at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 13. A dedication ceremony will be held at the beginning of the regular city council session at 6 p.m.
Bell said the proposal to rename the council chambers in his honor was approved quickly and unanimously.
“I will be honest and tell you there was not a dry eye on council," she said. "We all miss him terribly, and we wanted to make sure that his legacy and his name was remembered forever in Coburg.”
