SALISBURY — Susan Kluttz already has a key to the city of Salisbury for her work in local and state government, and the former mayor will be looking to use that experience as the newest member of the city council. Kluttz will fill the city council seat of former Mayor Pro Tem Tamara Sheffield, who will be moving into the role of mayor.

In addition, the members voted to name Council Member Harry McLaughlin as the city’s new mayor pro tem, filling the seat formerly held by Sheffield. McLaughlin was the second-highest vote-getter in the most recent city council election behind Sheffield.

All of the motions were approved unanimously by the members of the city council during the meeting on Tuesday.

The mayoral seat has been vacant since former Mayor Karen Alexander died in late December.  

“It’s an honor to serve Salisbury during this important transition. My previous service has given me a deep appreciation for local government’s role in enhancing quality of life, and I look forward to partnering with Mayor Sheffield, Mayor Pro Tem McLaughlin, and the entire council to help and support them in any way I can,” said Kluttz in a press release from the city.

Kluttz is the city’s longest-serving mayor at 14 years, serving in the role from 1997 to 2011. Council member David Post, who nominated her, said during the meeting that the council was considering Kluttz not just for her prior experience on the council, but also because she had remained closely involved in the city government.

“She’s done so much. She brings this institutional knowledge to Salisbury and she is actually very up-to-date with what we’re doing. She met with Mayor Alexander every week for lunch, and will walk in knowing the city in one hand and everything we’re doing in the other,” said Post.

Sheffield said in a phone call on Wednesday that part of the reason that experience was viewed as a “huge plus” was that this was the second time in just a few months that the council was appointing a new member. In November, newcomer Carlton Jackson Jr. was appointed to the city council to fill the seat of Anthony Smith, who had resigned to move to Birmingham, Alabama.

In addition to her work in Salisbury, Kluttz served in the state cabinet as the Secretary of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. During her tenure, Kluttz oversaw the merger of the Culture Resources department with Natural Resources, expanding her department to include both the preservation of the state’s arts, history and libraries along with all of the state parks, aquariums, science museums and the N.C. Zoo.

“We are thrilled to have Susan’s breadth of experience back in a municipal role. Her extensive experience in local governance and statewide cultural advocacy will greatly benefit our community as we navigate future challenges and opportunities,” said Sheffield in the release.

Sheffield has been on the city council since first being elected in 2017.

She said that despite the city council going through “extraordinary circumstances” with the resignation of Smith and the death of Alexander, their main goal was continuing to remain consistent with the city’s strategic plan.

“The main thing is staying consistent and aligned with our strategic plan, we worked on that before with Anthony and Karen, we had the citizens’ confidence that we were doing the right things,” said Sheffield.

She also stated that the city staff, which she said were the best people they could have in their positions, had remained the same throughout all of the changes.

Sheffield also represents the first openly-gay mayor of Salisbury. She said that while each of the city council member’s identities has nothing to do with their abilities to do their jobs, it does allow each of them to bring a diversity of experiences and schools of thought to the table, whether professional or lived.

Sheffield has served alongside and been a part of a long list of firsts on the Salisbury City Council, including being the first openly-gay city council member and one of three women, alongside Alexander and Al Heggins, that represented the first majority-female city council. 

She added that she was “happy to be able to represent the LBGTQ community,” in her new role. She also said that all of the city council members she has served alongside were supportive of “all of Salisbury,” so she was proud that she had been a part of and would continue to work towards furthering all of the communities in Salisbury.

Sheffield has repeatedly stated that Alexander served as both a role model and close friend to her during their years of working together, both on the city council and in other areas.  Since she was named mayor Tuesday night, she said she had received text messages from community members congratulating her, including some saying that “Karen is looking down at you and smiling so much.” Sheffield said that she has also been congratulated by Alexander’s family.

“We have to stay focused on what our roles on and what our jobs are. No one worked harder than Karen, so it would be a disservice to her if we don’t work as hard as we could at doing our jobs,” said Sheffield

Kluttz will fill the remainder of Sheffield’s term, which means that her seat will be up for reelection during the next regularly-scheduled election in November. The same is true for Sheffield, as the mayoral seat is elected separately but also up for election in November.

All three of Sheffield, Kluttz and McLaughlin will officially be sworn into their new roles during the next city council meeting. Sheffield said that the city will likely host a meet and greet before the meeting to allow for citizens to welcome Kluttz back onto the council and speak with her.