Only one candidate has come forward in the contest to fill the soon-to-be-vacant position of Langley Mayor Tim Callison.

Callison, who has been mayor for the past five and a half years, announced his plans to resign last month.

City council members will be choosing the new mayor at a council meeting scheduled for June 21. The new mayor will serve the remainder of Callison’s term, which is two and a half years.

The city is currently accepting applications for the position. Potential candidates must have lived within the city limits of Langley for at least one year and be 18 years of age and a registered voter.

As of Tuesday morning, Thomas Gill is the sole applicant for the job.

Gill is currently serving his second term on the city council. A Langley resident of 32 years, he has also been part of the city’s Planning Advisory Board and the Civil Service Commission.

Gill said he has been a “regular attendee” of city council meetings for the past 12 years.

“I have also built relationships with the staff in those 12 years, and by doing so, I have learned a lot about the underpinnings of the city, what the staff actually does, and how the city interfaces with the state,” he said. “These are attributes that I do not believe anyone else currently holds.”

He decided to apply for the role because three council seats are up for election this year, and he thought it was a “profoundly bad idea” to also have a mayor “without institutional knowledge or history with the city.”

“I would like to help to guide Langley’s continual changes to keep it a friendly city, one that actually lives up to its ideals, and can support the people that live and work there in a fair and equitable way,” Gill said.

Langley has a mayor-council form of government. In this form of government, the mayor is the chief administrative officer who is responsible for all administrative functions. The mayor also presides over council meetings.

According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of the city was 1,094 in 2019.

The mayor of Langley currently receives an annual salary of $55,000, with medical insurance included.

During the most recent city council meeting, Councilmember Craig Cyr suggested raising that salary.

“I suggest that the council consider increasing the pay for the office of mayor,” Cyr said in a statement to The Record. “As it stands now, the mayor’s pay is significantly below even the median income for Langley, making it difficult for someone that is not retired to consider running for mayor. It is a matter of inclusion and equity.”

For those interested in applying for the role, letters of interest and qualifications must be submitted by the end of the day Tuesday, June 15. Application materials must be sent to the City of Langley, Monica M. Felici Clerk/Treasurer, PO Box 366, Langley, WA 98260.