DEPOE BAY — Mayor Kathy Short, halfway through a third and final term, ended a wide-ranging city council meeting Tuesday, Dec. 9, by tearfully passing out her letter of resignation.

Short declined to read the message, saying, “Being mayor is very time consuming, but it’s not a burden. I just need to have more time…”

City Recorder Kim Wallenberg summarized the message as stunned members of the council expressed their thanks and well wishes. “She’s got to do what she needs to do for herself. She’s been a wonderful force.”

Afterwards, Councilman Bill Masella said the moment was a touching and emotional endcap to an influential career in local politics. Recalling the resignation letter, he said, “She enjoyed serving and appreciated everything people did, but she reached that time in life where she wanted to spend time with family and do what she needs for her health.”

With a smile and kind words that could melt ice cubes, Short is known by insiders and policy foes as a tough cookie whose patience had limits. The combination of honey and vinegar most recently guided the city through a complex, $4.5 million harbor renovation.

A well-known community volunteer and retired office manager, Short was appointed to fill a vacancy at Position 5 in Jan., 2018, then elected to the seat 10 months later. She was voted mayor in 2020 and enjoyed popular support in two subsequent elections.

The resignation, which takes effect Jan. 6, 2026, opens the way for either the appointment of a new mayor from the ranks of the unpaid city council or a special election. “You choose how you do it,” advised Wallenberg