VALDOSTA – Residents packed the Valdosta City Council chambers Thursday to bear witness to the induction of the city’s newest councilman and a new mayor pro tem.
City Council held its first meeting of 2023 and swore in Thomas B. McIntyre as the new representative of District 3, succeeding Councilmen Joseph “Sonny” Vickers’, who passed last June.
McIntyre defeated Dr. Mattie L. Blake by 169 votes in a December runoff for the special municipal election.
Once Valdosta City Manager Mark Barber read off the voting results from city elections, McIntyre took his oath of office with the supervision of Lowndes County Probate Court Judge Detria Carter Powell.
In an interview with The Valdosta Daily Times, he said he looks forward to getting to work and he already has some action items he would like to see pass.
“Tonight was my fourth time taking an oath. The other three times were for the military, which all you have to do is volunteer.”
He said it took a lot of work to get to where he could take the council oath.
“The best thing is that I didn’t do it by myself. It’s not just personal accolades. I mean, I had friends, family and especially the voters in District 3 behind me, I wouldn’t have been there. It was really a team effort,” he said.
Next, council gained a new mayor pro-tem with District 4 Councilman Eric Howard.
With Mayor Pro-Tem Vivian Miller Cody’s term ending, Mayor Scott James Matheson opened the floor for nominations.
Miller-Cody swiftly nominated Howard, seconded by Councilman Tim Carroll.
With no other nominations, Howard was unanimously elected mayor pro-tem.
He was joined by his wife, Tyra, and their children as he took his oath of office.
While council opted to table an agenda item on working with a consultation firm to find the next city manager, it appointed Deputy City Manager Richard Hardy to serve as interim city manager.
Hardy will fill the vacancy by City Manager Mark Barber who is retiring later this month after 35 years.
Hardy has served as the director of public works for the City of Valdosta since September 2014.
Hardy’s new role will go into effect Feb. 1.