By LYNDON ZAITZ of the Keizertimes
Lore Christopher, former mayor, was appointed to a vacant seat on the Keizer City Council in a special session Monday, Dec. 2.
She was sworn in and took her seat at the regular council meeting that night.
Christopher and two other candidates applied for appointment to the seat. Four members of the council voted for Christopher, while Tammy Kunz and Juli Ray Joy each received one vote.
Christopher served on the council from 1998 to 2001. She won the first of seven mayoral terms in 2000, serving in that post until 2015, when she was succeeded by current Mayor Cathy Clark.
This year, Christopher challenged Clark in the Nov. 5 election. Clark won reelection with a margin of fewer than 800 votes.
Appearing before the council, the three applicants for the vacant seat gave impassioned presentations about themselves.
Kunz ran unsuccessfully for the council in the general election. She is president of the Greater Northeast Keizer Neighborhood Association.
Joy is a racial justice advocate and movement building director for the Partnership for Safety and Justice.
Voting for Christopher were Councilors Dan Kohler, Shaney Starr, Kyle Juran and Soraida Cross.
Kunz had a vote from Councilor Laura Reid, and Joy’s vote came from Clark.