Battle Ground Mayor Mike Ciraulo was noticeably absent from last week’s State of the City address.
Deputy Mayor Phil Haberthur gave the speech before a couple hundred people at the city’s community center Thursday night.
The Columbian reported Ciraulo was absent due to a “scheduling conflict.”
In the days since the event, speculation has swirled as to why Ciraulo missed an event generally hosted by the city’s mayor.
So here’s the scoop. There’s no big cover-up. No power grab involving Haberthur.
The mayor had pre-arranged travel plans celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary, but they changed due to last week’s wintry weather. His original travel plans would have had him on the podium Thursday night.
Ciraulo spoke with Haberthur and asked the deputy mayor to give the speech — which was mostly written by Ciraulo, although Haberthur made a few changes — in his absence.
At the event, Sugar Mama’s Cupcakery in Battle Ground provided mini-cupcakes. The featured treat is called “The Mayor” and was designed to suit Ciraulo’s taste.
So even though Mayor Ciraulo wasn’t in attendance, “The Mayor” was.
