SAFFORD — After narrowing the field down to three, the Safford City Council unanimously voted Monday to appoint Dusti Brantner to the council seat made vacant following the death of Mayor Jason Kouts.
“All of the candidates were very much qualified; it was a very hard choice,” said Mayor Richard Ortega.
Brantner will be sworn in and seated during the April 8 regular City Council meeting. The term of the seat she will fill runs through Dec. 31, 2024.
Brantner previously ran for City Council in 2020, and lost by 66 votes in a November run-off to Brad Hemphill, who recused himself from the selection process due to his running for re-election this year against two of the candidates for appointment — Brantner and Corina Pino-Reyes.
Lee Patterson, the third candidate for appointment, currently serves on the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission. He said he has no intention to seek election to a four-year seat on the council.
Following interviews in closed executive session Monday, the Council members returned to open public meeting and were asked to rank their choices to fill the vacant seat, with the person with the lowest total to be selected. Brantner had a score of 8, while Patterson and Pino-Reyes tied with 11 each.
