Kalona City Councilman Ken Robe relinquished his seat on the city council at their meeting Monday. Robe is leaving his duties as a councilman so that he can serve as the new mayor. Robe ran uncontested for the position and won the 2019 election with 182 votes. City Administrator Ryan Schlabaugh tells KCII News that the city has a couple of different options to fill the vacancy. They can appoint someone for the duration of Robe’s term, they can call for a special election, or if they choose to do an appointment and the public would like to petition for a special election they can do that. Schlabaugh talks about how these situations have been handled in the past. “Typically, we reach out to the public to see who has interest in that position. We do some quick interviews, to garner their thoughts and where they’re at, and then that group would make a recommendation back to council.”

Council will convene on January 6th to make a decision on how to move forward in filling the vacancy. Robe’s term expires December 31st of 2021.