Lexington appoints new mayor

Published 12:00 pm Tuesday, December 24, 2019

LEXINGTON — The city of Lexington has a new mayor, according to the Heppner Gazette-Times.

The paper reported Dec. 18 that Juli Kennedy had been appointed to the position, which has been empty since Mayor Marcia Kemp resigned Oct. 11 in a letter to the East Oregonian.

Kemp had been feuding with some of the city’s councilors, claiming in her resignation letter that councilors “illegally stopped me from fulfilling my duties by taking actions with no resolutions, changing the town charter and making decisions outside of council meetings.”

Councilor Bill Beard told the East Oregonian at the time that it was the other way around, and Kemp had been excluding the council from decisions they should have been a part of. 

Kemp’s ally on the council was Marcia Sticka, who the Gazette-Times also reported resigned in December. 

The city did not return a message asking for information about Kennedy’s background on Monday. She will be up for election in November 2020.