CENTRALIA — The unfortunate and untimely death over the weekend of Township Supervisor Mike Young leaves another local elected office vacant following the expulsion last week of Mayor-Elect Bryan Kuder’s election victory.

According to Marion County Clerk Steve Fox, state statute does not allow for a special election in either case. Fox says the Centralia Township Board has 60 days to appoint someone to finish out Young’s term as Centralia Township Supervisor. The replacement must be of the same political Party as Young, who was a Democrat.

The person appointed will have the complete rights and authority of the Township Supervisor until the 2021 Township Election, which would have been the end of Young’s current term.

As for the Centralia mayor’s seat that at this point will be vacant as of May 13, Fox says the Centralia City Council has the authority to appoint a Mayor Pro-tem to fill the vacancy created when Mayor-Elect Bryan Kuder was found by the City Council to be ineligible to serve. However, Kuder and his attorneys said they would fight that decision in court.

If Kuder is unable to have a court stay or overturn the council’s decision by May 13, city council members – including new member Robert “Spanky” Smith – will be sworn into office.

Those four members will then be tasked with naming a City of Centralia resident as mayor pro-tem. That person will serve until the next consolidated election in 2022.