By Taylor Millard, Contributing Writer
There’s a new mayor and several town council members in Argyle. Mayor Rick Bradford along with newcomer Casey Stewart and incumbent Ron Schmidt were formally sworn in Monday night during the town council’s regular meeting.
All are familiar with Argyle municipal government. Bradford served as Place 5 councilmember and Mayor Pro Tem before running unopposed for mayor. Schmidt has represented Place 2 on the town council since 2017 and fought off a challenge from former mayor Bryan Livingston earlier this month. The Town Council appointed Schmidt as Mayor Pro Tem last night.
“It’s a great honor to be recognized by your peers,” said Schmidt. “I see it as a very important role in supporting our new mayor going forward. It essentially gives me additional responsibilities…I’m looking forward to the next year…I will do my best as I’ve done before to serve in the mayor’s stead whenever he cannot fulfill his responsibilities.”
Stewart, the new town council representative for Place 4, previously served as Argyle’s planning and zoning commission chair since 2021. He replaces Dr. Cynthia Hermann, who did not run for re-election.
Bradford endorsed Schmidt and Stewart during the campaign. He praised both for being active members of the Argyle community, along with their experience. The mayor particularly noted that Stewart “cares deeply about preserving our Town’s rural charm.”
Hermann is not expected to leave city government. Schmidt nominated her to fill out the rest of Bradford’s term as Place 5 Council representative. No other candidates were nominated and the motion to appoint Hermann was carried unanimously. She’ll remain on the council until May 2024.
Schmidt said that the council made the right call by appointing Hermann to the Place 5 position. “We should appoint someone to fulfill that role and, at the moment, we didn’t have a better choice. She’s been a substantial member of the council in the past…She was the best choice for that position…That’s why we reached out to her to see if she’d consider serving out the rest of [Bradford’s] term.”
Absent from last night meeting was now-former Place 3 Councilwoman Sherri Myers. Schmidt confirmed that she submitted her resignation on Monday afternoon and Myers did not attend the meeting. The council did not formally accept her resignation at the meeting. Myers disapproved of a vote of no confidence resolution against then-mayor Bryan Livingston last month.
The next Town Council meeting is scheduled for June 26th.
