New Laramie City Council Elects Dave Paulekas Mayor

Dave Paulekas was elected Mayor and President of the Laramie City Council at a special meeting of the council on Monday night. Newly elected council member Paul Weaver was elected Vice Mayor and Vice President of the council.

The special meeting began with the oaths of office for elected councilors. New council members, Vicky Henry, Jayne Pearce and Weaver were sworn in, as were Joe Vitale and Joe Shumway, who were re-elected in November.

The council then made nominations for Mayor. Shumway nominated Paulekas, Vitale nominated Klaus Hanson and Henry nominated Pearce. Shumway, Roger McKinley, Lee Kempert, Paulekas, Weaver and Henry voted for Paulekas.

"It's an honor to be Mayor and I'm humbled by it," said Paulekas after the meeting, adding that he believes the key role of Mayor is to represent the council and try to create an environment in which things run smoothly and people respect each other.

For the position of Vice Mayor, Shumway nominated Weaver, Vitale nominated himself and Pearce nominated Henry. Shumway, McKinley, Kempert and Paulekas all voted for Weaver, who also voted for himself.

Councilors also selected which boards and commissions they will serve on for 2013 and 2014 before adjourning the meeting. A listing of where each council member will be serving is listed below.

Joe Shumway – Finance Committee, Beautification Committee, Local Emergency Planning Committee

Klaus Hanson – Finance Committee, Albany County Recreation Board, Laramie Advisory Commission on Disabilities

Joe Vitale – Planning Commission, Chamber of Commerce Board, Albany County Tourism Board

Dave Paulekas – Laramie Economic Development Corporation Board, Urban Systems Advisory Committee, Building Code Board of Appeals

Lee Kempert – Parks, Tree & Recreation Board, Board of Health, Urban Systems Advisory Committee

Roger McKinley – Laramie Railroad Depot Board, Wyoming Territorial Park Board, Airport Board

Paul Weaver – Finance Committee, Laramie Plains Civic Center Joint Powers Board, Downtown Development Authority & Laramie Main Street

Vicki Henry – Parks, Trails & Recreation Master Plan Ad Hoc, Monolith Ranch Ad Hoc Advisory Committee, Environmental Advisory Commission

Jayne Pearce – Urban Systems Advisory Commission, Rifle Range, Traffic Commission