San Luis Obispo has a new mayor.
City council member Erica Stewart was appointed to the position just days after her predecessor, Heidi Harmon, stepped down from her role as mayor to take a climate advocacy job.
At the virtual city council meeting Tuesday evening, mayoral applicants each had the chance to speak for 5 minutes and Stewart was ultimately appointed as the new mayor, but she wasn't always sure this is what she wanted to do.
Stewart previously said that she was not planning on applying for the mayor position because she didn’t think she had enough time to devote to the job, but after Harmon resigned she says she was able to re-assess her situation. She spoke with her family and employer, both of whom supported her applying for the position.
Stewart will now work 3/4 time of a previously full-time position at Cal Poly to make it work with her new position as mayor of San Luis Obispo.
After a 4-0 unanimous vote, Michelle Shoresman was appointed to fill Stewart's vacant city council seat.
