Scott Cooper elected as Acting Mayor for City of Lincoln

[June 02, 2015]  LINCOLN - At the Monday evening voting session of the Lincoln City Council, the last item on the agenda prior to going into executive session was the selection of an Acting Mayor to fill the vacancy left by Keith Snyder earlier this year.

At the introduction of the topic, city administrator Clay Johnson said that the first step would be to accept nominations. The floor was then opened for such. Michelle Bauer spoke first, nominating Ward 1 Alderman Scott Cooper. Todd Mourning spoke second, also nominating Cooper. The third nomination came from Jeff Hoinacki and was also for Cooper. When it appeared that there were to be no other nominations, Johnsons said there should next be a motion to close the floor for nominations. The motion was made and approved.

The next step in the process was to then inquire of Cooper if he was willing to accept the nomination. He said that he was.

Bauer then made the motion to appoint Cooper as the acting mayor for the City. Mourning seconded the motion. All eight aldermen were present for the vote, and all voted in favor of Cooper.

Immediately after the vote, Council Chairwoman Marty Neitzel handed over the Mayoral Gavel to Cooper, and the new officer was sworn into office by City Attorney Blinn Bates.

After the meeting, Cooper said that for the time being, he will be serving in a dual capacity. He explained that by statute, he has the right to hold his Ward 1 position while fulfilling the duties of an Acting Mayor. He said, as such he will continue to vote as the representative for Ward 1.

Cooper took office as Ward 1 alderman when appointed by Mayor Keith Snyder in August of 2014. This year he ran for election in his ward and won. His current term will expire in 2019.

As the acting Mayor, he will fulfil the duties of the mayor until the next election in 2017.

Cooper said Monday night that he intended to play it one day at a time for a while. He noted that the last time there was a vacancy in Ward 1 it took quite some time to find someone willing to take the seat. He said he did not want to leave his constituents under-represented, so he will keep his position as an alderman until he decides what the proper course of action will be.

[Nila Smith]