PORT ANGELES – The sudden and unexpected passing this weekend of Port Angeles City Councilman Jim Moran has left many in shock. His wife Marie found him in bed when she returned Saturday from visiting relatives.

A celebration of Moran’s life, including military honor ceremonies, will be held  at the Port Angeles Senior Center, 328 E. 7th St, at noon Saturday (Nov. 23). A reception will follow at a location to be announced. In lieu of flowers, the family asks you donate to a favorite charity, “or volunteer a few hours to help out in the community.” The request honors Moran’s volunteering spirit with dozens of community organizations and boards.

Now looms the question of finding someone to take up the mantle of one of the city’s most ardent public servants will soon fall into the hands of the council members he leaves behind.

City Attorney Bill Bloor on the procedures for moving forward with council business.

“I want to emphasize, all of the city employees are shocked and saddened by Jim’s sudden passing and we all want to share an appropriate mourning period with the family. At the same time, we understand that there are procedures that the city council will have to begin taking and it’s certainly in the public interest for the public to know basically what the procedures are. And so to begin with, the state law simply says that the city council shall appoint a qualified person to fill the vacant position. So basically, the same eligibility requirements for an election. Now the state law also says that the city council shall make the appointment within 90 days of the vacancy. That doesn’t mean that they have to wait 90 days .

State law also doesn’t lay out a particular procedure for the Council to follow, but in the past it involved notifying the public that they would accept letters of interest and set a deadline.

“Sometimes they will interview candidates. If they do that, that has to be done in open meeting and then after that they will usually make their selection.”

The council will be in the unusual position of having just come through an election that featured one of the closest council races in recent memory. Bloor says the councilmembers can take that into consideration when making their decision, but are under no obligation to do so.