By Conrad Dudderar
Associate Editor
A Yukon City Council member has resigned from his post about 7-1/2 months before his term was due to end.
Aric Gilliland served as the council’s Ward 4 representative since May 2020. He defeated businessman Ken Wilkins in a February election by a 246-96 vote margin (72%) to earn a four-year term in office.
Gilliland’s resignation was effective Sept. 12.
“My family and I have made the very recent decision to move to a property we own that is outside Yukon city limits,” Gilliland wrote in a memo to Yukon Mayor Shelli Selby, City Manager Tammy Kretchmar and fellow council members.
Since he no longer lives in Ward 4, Gilliland is not eligible to serve on the five-member Yukon City Council.
“Serving on this council has been one of the greatest pleasures of my life and I couldn’t be more thankful for the opportunity,” Gilliland said in his memo. “I appreciate the receptive and open nature of the city manager and the hard work and diligence of our mayor. You have both been great to work with.
“Our Council has worked hard in the days and aftermath of the COVID crisis, and I am proud to have worked with each one of you!”
A Yukon High School graduate, Gilliland is a schoolteacher, coach and small business owner.
Although he now resides outside this city, Gilliland said “his heart will remain” in Yukon.
The Yukon City Council, at its Tuesday night, Sept. 19th meeting, is due to accept nominations for the position of Ward 4 council member and consider appointing Gilliland’s successor. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. inside the Centennial Building, 12 S 5th.
The appointee will serve the remainder of Gilliland’s unexpired term ending on the first Tuesday in May 2024.
Late Tuesday, Wilkins – owner of Archery Traditions – told The Yukon Progress he would be willing to serve the rest of Gilliland’s term but had not been contacted about the appointment.
Another possibility is David Enmark, a planning commissioner.
Read more about the Ward 4 city council appointment at www.yukonprogress.com and in this Saturday’s edition of The Yukon Progress.
