Dustin Suntheimer was chosen as the newest Chelsea City Council member Tuesday night.
His appointment follows interviews conducted by the City Council to fill the seat of Kent Martinez-Kratz, who was elected to the County Board of Commissioners in November and begins his new role next month.
Before the vote, Chelsea Mayor Jason Lindauer said, “Unfortunately, Kent will be leaving for higher office and we wish him Godspeed and good luck.”
Four candidates interviewed for the position — Bethany Morris, who received one vote, Suntheimer, who received five votes, Lynn Fox, who pulled her name from consideration following the interview, and Jeff Blazok, who received 1 vote.
City Manager John Hanifan said Fox “withdrew from the process because she had a conflict come up.”
Suntheimer moved to Chelsea in 2004 and has three children in the school district and is involved with the lacrosse team. He’s in sales and marketing for U-M’s Department of Pathology molecular cancer testing.
He will officially take office on Jan. 8.
“I just want to say how pleased I was with the candidates,” said Council Member Ann Feeney, who announced publicly that she won’t be running again, nor will Council Member Frank Hammer.
“I hope you’ll run in November,” she told those who interviewed for the position.
This means there will be two open 4-year City Council seats in November 2013, and two 2-year council seats up for grabs. In addition, the mayor’s 4-year seat is also up for election.
