Mayor of Gibsonburg resigns at council request

3/21/2005

GIBSONBURG, Ohio Lois Larson, the first female mayor of this western Sandusky County village, resigned this month at village council s request after missing all but one council meeting this year because of poor health.

By law, council president Edward Herman, Jr., became mayor, and on Thursday, council unanimously elected Dave Johnson as the new council president.

Council had unanimously asked for the mayor s resignation on March 3 and sent its request to her by certified mail, councilman Mary Brown said.

We just thought it was time, Ms. Brown said. It s hard if you don t have the mayor there and you have six council people discussing stuff.

Ms. Larson, who said her resignation was delivered to the council president on March 10 and effective at noon that day, said she had planned to leave her post before receiving council s request. She is 75 and has undergone two surgeries and suffered pneumonia recently.

She leaves her second term as mayor, which expires in 2007. She had been mayor in the late 1990s and then became a village councilman.

Although Mr. Herman immediately became mayor, the seat will appear on the November ballot, Ms. Brown said.