New Mayor takes oath of office

Mayor Carl Florea was sworn in at a ceremony in city hall at 10 a.m. on Dec. 31, 2019.

Council chambers were filled with a large crowd of supporters and city staff as he took his oath of office.

Florea said he was anxious to get started with fullfilling his goals and addressing the issues he outlined during his campaign.

While he did recognize there was tension between the business community and the citizens during the campaign he said he recognized the local economy was primarily driven by tourism and he did not see that changing.

He looked forward to addressing community concerns over traffic, parking and affordable housing while balancing the needs to maintain our strong economy. 

Florea said some 50 years ago the community came together with project LIFE - Leavenworth Improvement For Everyone. He wanted to start a new project LIFE where we all work together to address our problems.

Florea also announced that he intended to replace city manaager, Joel Walinski. While he had no problem with Walinski's job performance he wanted someone who was more aligned with his vision and campaign goals.

Walinski's employment contract will be terminated as of the end of February 2020.