Mary Waterman-Philpot steps down, council agrees to accept applications, may interview candidates for open seat
EXETER – Exeter city councilwoman, and former mayor, Mary Waterman-Philpot stepped down from the council on March 15.
Exeter city manager, Adam Ennis announced at last Tuesday’s Exeter City Council meeting that Waterman-Philpot decided to step down for personal reasons. Shortly thereafter the Exeter City Council decided to declare her seat vacant and accept applications for her replacement. According to Ennis the city could have held a special election for the seat, but that would have cost the city thousands in addition to waiting till June 2022.
Waiting till then makes little sense because Waterman-Philpot’s term ends in November 2022. In addition to waiting for over a year for the community to elect someone, whoever they elect would only hold the seat for a few months before voters were asked to cast a ballot for the seat again. As well, the council would have to go more than a year with only four members.
The city has already posted application forms on their web site and social media accounts. The council agreed to review applications at their April 13 meeting, where they might pick an applicant or direct staff to arrange interviews.
