CLEARWATER, Fla. — The city of Clearwater officially has a new mayor after the former mayor, Frank Hibbard, resigned during a meeting a week ago.
The city council agreed on appointing former Republican Mayor Brian Aungst, Sr. to serve as interim mayor.
The decision comes exactly one week since Hibbard abruptly resigned in the middle of a council meeting. Some members of the public wanted to see the city's current vice mayor, Kathleen Beckman, step up into the position. Others strongly supported Aunst.
However, Beckman eventually took her name out of the running for interim mayor, citing potential plans to run for mayor in the next election.
As interim mayor, Aungst will not be able to run in the March 2024 election.
Hibbard said he did not anticipate leaving, nor was his decision premeditated. He cited the "expenditures" the city council planned to make were unfortunate, followed by, "If you're going to drive off a cliff, I'm not going to stay in the vehicle."
In his letter of resignation, he pointed out that the "Government is going to have to learn to be more creative in finding solutions for difficult challenges, that require finite resources."