JOHN DAY — Katrina Randleas has ben tapped to fill the void on the John Day City Council following the resignation of Gregg Haberly in late April.

Randleas was appointed to the council following a vote at the May 24 meeting and assumed her responsibilities immediately.

Christopher Stauty also was under consideration for the appointment, with Randleas winning out due to her three years of experience on the John day Budget Committee.

“I applied for City Council three years ago when there was an open position and when I wasn’t appointed they asked if I would go on the Budget Committee, so I went on to the Budget Committee.”

Those three years, she said, gave her a greater understanding of all the things the council is working on and this felt like the “right time” for her to step onto the council.

The biggest issue Randleas sees in the community right now is division, and it is something she hopes she and the wider community can correct.

“I want to leave a community that is a little more united than it is,” she said. “When I think about the ways we interact with each other, there are a lot of pre-assumptions about people. I think it’s important for us to come together and understand where each other are coming from. We need to look for what unites us and how can we make that happen for everybody’s benefit.”

Randleas also stated that another one of her goals is to make sure the large amount of people on a fixed income are understood when the council is considering financial issues such as bond measures.

“I want to make sure they are heard and understood and felt when these types of contentious issues come up,” she said.

Stressing that she is registered as an unaffiliated voter, Randleas says she refuses to pick a side and wants to evaluate issues based on their pros and cons.

“I want to be thinking critically about each thing and chasing what is best and what upholds my value system,” she said. “I want so see what’s going to be best to leave a legacy that we can be proud of.”

The appointment of Randleas to the City Council now leaves an empty seat on the Budget Committee.