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After drawing names from a bowl, Port Moody has a new acting mayor

Port Moody Councillor Meghan Lahti will serve for the next three months, followed by Councillor Hunter Madsen and then Councillor Steve Milani. Image: City of Port Moody

Port Moody city councillor Meghan Lahti will be in the mayor’s chair for the next three months.

From July to September, councillor Hunter Madsen will fill the role, and for the end of the year, the acting mayor will be councillor Steve Milani.

Port Moody’s elected mayor, Rob Vagramov, is currently on leave to focus on the sexual assault charge laid against him.

Vagramov denies the allegations and says he will be fighting the matter in court.

Vagramov appointed councillor Diana Dilworth to fill in as acting Mayor for the time being, but Lahti says she wasn’t available for the job full-time.

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“She has a full-time job,” Lahti said. “She can’t take the time off, so we knew that we would have to revisit this decision as quickly as possible.”

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So on Tuesday night they picked names out of a bowl, and Lahti’s name was picked first.

“We all agreed that we all respect each other’s ability, so it doesn’t matter whose name gets drawn,” Lahti said.

She says the focus now is on repairing the community.

“We understand that the face of the community has been shaken, [so] we have a job to do to provide leadership,” Lahti said.

Lahti will also be representing Port Moody on Translink’s Mayor’s Council.

As for compensation, she says staff will be coming back next week with a dollar sign of how much acting mayors will be paid.

WATCH: Port Moody mayor charged with sexual assault

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Port Moody mayor charged with sexual assault

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