Jeff Stanley, a Howe High School Graduate was appointed mayor back in April 2009 and has run unopposed each consecutive term since. On Tuesday night at the regular Howe City Council meeting, Stanley resigned from the position of mayor effective immediately citing that he no longer has the time necessary to fulfill the duties.
Upon the city council’s approval, Stanley recommended that the position of mayor be acted upon in favor of Bill French, a longtime council member. The council voted in favor of French with all in favor besides French who abstained.
“I’ve put stipulations on myself that if I could not continue to do the job or did not have the time for the job, that I would step down. That time has come,” said Stanley in open forum at the council meeting. “Over the years, I’ve had to back off of a lot of the jobs that I do and don’t spend as much time at City Hall and I’ve had to step off of boards. This is one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make, but it’s time.”
Stanley went on to say that he had talked with French several times over the past year about setting this plan in place.
“We’ve never set a date, but I called him up last week and said, ‘it’s time – if the council would agree,'” said Stanley. “I think it’s time for somebody new.”
Stanley is the longest-tenured mayor in the City of Howe history behind W.P. Thompson, who was voted mayor of Howe for at least nineteen consecutive terms spanning from 1913-1949.
French is a 26-year resident of Howe and has served on the Howe City Council for several consecutive terms and on two separate occasions dating back as early as the 1990s.
