Lehighton Borough Council has an open seat after a sitting councilman was chosen to fill the vacant mayoral position following the passing of its former leader.

On a 3-1 vote with one abstention, borough council on Monday appointed Ryan Saunders to fill the open post. Council members David Zimmerman, Steve Hawk and Becky Worthy were in favor, with Councilman Grant Hunsicker opposed.

Councilwoman Autumn Abelovsky abstained because the mayor is in charge of the police department, and she is married to police Chief Troy Abelovsky. Councilman John Kreitz was absent from the meeting.

After the meeting, Hunsicker, who had been handling mayoral duties in the wake of the death of former Mayor Clark Ritter, 78, who died Oct. 23, disclosed why he voted against Saunders’ appointment.

“I think we should have advertised to give everybody a chance,” Hunsicker said. “Because there were other people interested maybe.”

Council’s decision came after Zimmerman asked for council’s approval to appoint Saunders to the position.

“First, I want to make it clear that there is no replacement for (former) Mayor Clark Ritter, nor am I looking for someone to be him,” Zimmerman said. “Secondly, the Lehighton Police Department is in a state of transition with our ‘still fairly new’ chief settling in and establishing new directives within the department.

“It is for this reason that it is imperative that council choose someone as soon as possible. Someone that is familiar with the activities of the police department, works well with Chief Abelovsky and can fill the position in a hurry.”

Zimmerman added that he believes Saunders is the right person for the post.

“I have witnessed firsthand his abilities at working with Chief Abelovsky and the rapport they have with each other,” he said.

Open seat on council

After the meeting, Saunders, who has served on council for the past seven years, said his appointment as mayor “took me a little by surprise.”

“Definitely honored, number one, that council feels that way, and obviously I’ll be really proud to serve in that capacity and do the very best job that I can in trying to continue Clark’s original vision of the department,” he said. “I did think about running for mayor in the future and obviously with the untimely death of Mayor Ritter, I thought obviously there was a protocol with how to move forward, I thought maybe that would be something that would help the borough, or maybe I would be a good fit in the interim until the next election.

Saunders said he anticipates a fairly seamless transition.

“I think I’ve had multiple conversations with Chief Abelovsky from the police, fire and safety position, so I’m well aware of the current state of the department, and I think Chief Abelovsky and myself have a very similar vision of the future of our department,” he said. “And I want to support him in any way possible for him to succeed in continuing that progress moving forward.”

Saunders said among his goals as mayor are “to make sure that I am available to people.”

“My vision of the department as mayor is to ensure our officers are providing the very best service to our community that our community deserves.”

Saunders will fill Ritter’s term, which runs through 2025.

Afterward, council on a 6-0 vote agreed to advertise for a new borough council member, and will seek letters of interest from candidates.