With Monday’s appointment of Katie Garberding to fill Mayor Leanne Guier’s vacant Position 4 seat, the Pacific City Council is back at full strength.

The council voted 6-0 to appoint Garberding to the position, which became vacant upon Guier’s appointment as mayor in July. She replaced recalled former Mayor Cy Sun in July.

Garberding, a regular in the audience at city council meetings, was a vocal opponent of Sun.

“The lady has shown up for council meetings and workshops and has been in attendance for the last year and a half or two years,” said Councilmember Clint Steiger. “She has shown great interest, and none of the other candidates who applied have been there as much as her. It will be a short term, four or five months, so this gives her some exposure and experience working on the council, so she can decide if she wants to continue doing it in the future. The main reason was her showing up for the meetings, that’s why I voted for her.”

Garberding also has been active in the community, helping lead a campaign last summer to fund the repair of the light fixture illuminating the flagpole at city hall.

Steiger added that he also voted for Garberding over two of the other candidates who applied, Vic Kave and Dave Stookey, because of the results of the recent primary vote for the open Position 4 seat.

The seat will be contested in the Nov. 5 general election, voters having the option of voting for either Kave or Guier, who have both moved on from the Aug. 6 primary. Stookey was also a candidate but was knocked out of the race with his third-place finish.

“I feel they were all great applicants,” Steiger said. “We didn’t want to interfere with the voters, though. Appointing Kave would be like free advertising for his campaign, and the voters already knocked Stookey out.”

Garberding’s appointment expires on Dec. 31, after which either Guier or Kave will assume the position.

Guier was unable to withdraw her name from the ballot after she was appointed mayor. If she wins the majority of the vote in the general election, Guier will have the option of either resigning as mayor and resuming her council seat, or refusing to sign the oath of office for the seat and remaining mayor. If she continues as mayor, the council will be tasked with appointing someone to the seat.

The council also appointed two residents, Kerry Garberding and DuWayne Gratz, to vacancies on the City’s park board.