The Reporter

Bud Sizemore, saying he doesn’t have the time any more to devote to the work, has resigned as a Covington City Council member.

“I have decided that time constraints from my work and family life no longer leave me with the hours necessary to properly serve the citizens of Covington,” Sizemore stated during a council meeting June 27, when he formally announced his resignation would be effective June 30. “I can’t accept being less than fully committed to continuing the progress that the council has achieved.”

Sizemore’s departure came with about 18 months left in his four-year term. The council plans to appoint a successor Aug. 12 to fill the rest of the term through the 2009 election, when the office will be on the ballot. Applications for the appointment will be accepted until Aug. 7.

Sizemore, whose full-time occupation is as a firefighter with the Kent Fire Department, was appointed to the council in May 2004. He was elected to the post in 2005.

He said public safety, child services and the management of residential and commercial growth of the city were his priorities as a councilman. Council accomplishments of which “I am especially proud,” he said, include increased police staffing and the return of a parks and recreation program.

City leaders praised Sizemore’s service.

“Covington is fortunate to have had Bud’s leadership, and we wish him well,” said Mayor Margaret Harto. She added that results of his work “will be with us for a long time.”

“We appreciate everything” that Sizemore “has done for Covington,” said city manager Derek Matheson.

Prospective replacements of Sizemore can obtain application forms at City Hall or from the city’s Web site at www.ci.covington.wa.us.

A community forum for candidates to answer questions posed by citizens is tentatively scheduled for Aug. 12 at 6 p.m. at City Hall. A city spokeswoman said city attorney Amy Jo Pearsall will be the moderator, and it’s anticipated that an appointment will follow the forum.

Another council vacancy was created last fall by the death of then-council member Don Henning. From a field of four applicants, the council appointed Wayne Snoey to replace him. Snoey had served previously as a councilman during 2002-04.