DEPOE BAY – The Depoe Bay city council has appointed Councilor Valerie Sovern as its mayor after accepting the resignation of Kathy Short at its Jan. 6 meeting.

Sovern had been serving as a council member since 2023 after being elected to Position 5 via a write-in campaign.

Sovern was selected last week from among the current council members in accordance with the city charter and applicable law, the city said in a news release. She will serve as mayor for the remainder of the Short’s term. Sovern will be sworn in at the council’s meeting Tuesday, Jan. 20.

Short, who was halfway through a third and final term, resigned in December effective Jan. 6. Short had been appointed to fill a council vacancy in 2018, and then ran successfully for her first term as mayor in 2020.