Chris Brewer, one of the Centralia City Council’s newest members, was selected to serve as the city’s new deputy mayor during a meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 24.
Brewer was chosen following a nomination and voting process held by the council. While all councilors are normally selected by voters during elections, the council chooses who serves as mayor and deputy mayor.
“I appreciate the opportunity to serve. It’s been a very, very rapid first year on council, to say the least, and I’m looking forward to serving in this capacity and will do the best that I can,” Brewer said.
Still in his first year on the council, Brewer was elected in November 2023 and sworn in last January to the council’s at-large position 1.
The deputy mayor position became vacant earlier this month following the resignation of former District 1 Councilor Cameron McGee, who had to step down after he moved out of the district he represented.
On Tuesday, Sept. 17, former Centralia Planning Commission member Norm Chapman was selected following a public interview process to serve out the remainder of McGee’s term, which ends on Dec. 31, 2025.
Chapman was also the one who nominated Brewer for deputy mayor on Tuesday, as no other councilors made nominations. Brewer was unanimously selected by his fellow councilors.
In Centralia, the deputy mayor is responsible for ensuring order during public comment along with reading ordinances and council motions into the record. The deputy mayor also assumes the duties of the mayor — currently Kelly Smith Johnston — in case of the mayor’s absence during a meeting.
Centralia operates using a council-manager form of government where the council is responsible for creating policy while the city manager administers government affairs and carries out council directions.
