ARLINGTON — The first Arlington City Council meeting of the New Year was also one of its briefest, as city attorney Steve Peiffle swore in two incumbent and two first-term elected officials Jan. 4.
Barbara Tolbert was sworn into her second term as mayor, after receiving 53 percent of the vote against challenger Craig Christianson in November.
Marilyn Oertle was sworn into her fifth term on the council, after receiving 69 percent of the vote against challenger Natalie Reed. Oertle, who occupies the Position 5 seat, began serving on the council in 2000, and has served two non-consecutive stints as Mayor Pro Tem.
The next most-senior member of the council is Chris Raezer, in the Position 2 seat, who began serving in 2006, and whose current term is set to expire at the start of 2018.
Sue Weiss and Mike Hopson were sworn into their first terms in Positions 4 and 6, respectively, which won’t expire until the start of 2020.
Weiss edged out first-term incumbent Randy Tendering with just under 51 percent of the vote, while Hopson won a three-way race with a commanding 63 percent against challenger Jacob Kukuk and incumbent Austin DeFreece III, the latter of whom was appointed to the seat a few months before and ran as a write-in candidate.
While Weiss had no comments to offer during her first council meeting — “Your assignments are coming, so don’t worry,” Tolbert laughed — Hopson expressed his appreciation.
“It’s a great honor,” Hopson said. “The citizens elected me to serve the community’s good, so I will make every effort to do so.”
