(DAPHNE, AL.) The city of Daphne has a new mayor.
First-year City Councilman Dane Haygood was selected to fill the vacant seat by a council vote of 5-1 Monday night. Haygood has only been a councilman for less than four months, but was selected over two other long-sitting councilman.
"I'm certainly not the most experienced member on the council," Haygood told Local 15. "But I think the confidence my fellow council members have in me speaks to my character."
The seat was left vacant after Mayor Bailey Yelding passed away from cancer two weeks ago.
"I have big shoes to fill," Haygood said. "Mayor Yelding was a great man. I don't think I can fill those shoes, but I hope together [as a city council] we can work and move the city forward."
Haygood, a commercial real estate broker, hasn't been in City Hall long, but his fellow council members said he's already left a good impression. 20-year councilman John Lake, who was also nominated for mayor but didn't receive enough votes, lent his full support behind Haygood.
"Since I've been on council, he's the hardest working person I've ever seen," Lake said. "I think three years from now, we'll look back and know we made the right choice."
