Richland City Council Member Resigns Effective Immediately
After serving on the Richland City Council since 2010, Position 5 member Phil Lemley has announced his immediate resignation.
Lemley first elected in 2010
Lemley, who moved to Richland in 2002 to work for Bechtel National as an electrical engineer became involved in a variety of causes, including (from Richland City information):
"Richland Police Department’s Volunteers in Police Service, Executive Board of Directors for the Blue Mountain Council of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), District Chairman of the Rattlesnake Ridge District of the Blue Mountain Council of the BSA, Benton Franklin American Red Cross Board of Directors and First Tee of Columbia Basin Board of Directors."
No specific reason was released for this immediate resignation, but Mayor Michael Alvarez stated in part:
"... He is a champion of fair and equitable government practices. We wish him the best of luck as he returns to his roots in Arkansas.”
He most recently was re-elected in 2019, getting just over 64 percent of the vote over challenger Lisa Thomas.
Mayor Alvarez says the City will immediately being to screen interested applicants for the position, and that person will fill Position 5 until the term expires in November 2023.
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