Woodland councilman Aaron Christopherson stepped down Monday night due to “job constraints” that prevented him from committing completely to his position, he informed the council in his resignation letter.
Christopherson faced the prospect of removal from the council Monday had he missed his third straight meeting without an excused absence. He is a principal with ARC Solutions LLC, a home design and planning business based in Woodland.
Christopherson became Clark County’s youngest elected official in 2007 when he won a council seat at age 19. But in recent weeks the now 23-year-old Christopherson drew criticism from other Woodland officials for his sporadic meeting attendance record.
Christopherson missed 10 of 17 council meetings prior to Monday. He also missed eight special or joint meetings.
It remains unclear whether Woodland will appoint a temporary council member to fill Christopherson’s vacant seat. Woodland Mayor Chuck Blum previously said he doubted the city would appoint a member so close to the Nov. 8 general election.
Tony Brentin and Marshall Allen will vie for a four-year term in Christopherson’s old seat in the general election. Christopherson did not seek re-election.
In an independent audit released earlier this year, Blum alleged that Christopherson asked him to falsify a loan application. Christopherson vehemently denied the mayor’s allegation. Blum has since said he believed the young councilman had “grown up.”
Neither Christopherson nor Blum returned a phone call seeking comment Tuesday evening.
Ray Legendre: 360-735-4517; http://www.facebook.com/raylegend; http://www.twitter.com/col_smallcities; ray.legendre@columbian.com.
