SHAWANO, WI- The City of Shawano will be looking at taking action on an upcoming Mayoral vacancy.

The Shawano Common Council is expected to take action during their meeting Wednesday night.

Shawano Mayor Ed Whealon announced that he and his wife purchased a second home outside of the city of Shawano, which will become their permeant home in 2021.

“We bought a home that is north of the city of Shawano and it is the right thing to do, because if I am not a resident of the City of Shawano, it is pretty clear that I cannot be mayor by Statute,” Whealon said. “We fell in love with it, made an offer and it was accepted, so here we are.”

Whealon’s departure leaves the council with the decision of how to proceed with the remainder of this term as Whealon was recently re-elected for his second term.

Whealon says there are really three options for the council.

“We can leave the position open, which I don’t think is the right thing to do, they can appoint someone to fill the rest of the term or they can hold a special election.”

While Whealon said the decision will up to the council, he told TCHdailynews.com and the WTCH Midday Show with Jay VanStiphout that he has a preference.

“I know City Clerk Lesley Nemetz may not want to hear this, but I hope the council decides to hold a special election, he said. “There have been a lot of people that have shown interest in the position and there may be some really good candidates that might run if there is an election.”

He said however, he does not believe that there will be enough time to hold a special election before he leaves office.

Looking back, Whealon said he is comfortable leaving Shawano in the direction that is heading.

“We are going in the right direction and we have a lot of development going on and we have a great staff. Either the community is dying or growing and I believe this community is growing.”

“I intend to see this next budget through and then I will resign at the end of the year. I am going to miss seeing projects come through and seeing businesses working together and we really did come together during this COVID issue.”