Chewelah City Council members appoint interim mayor

CHEWELAH, Wash. – City Council members in Chewelah appointed Dorothy Knauss as interim mayor Wednesday evening.

“I felt like when I knew there was an opening, I couldn’t not volunteer to come back,” Knauss said.

Knauss was sworn in by City Attorney Michael Waters Wednesday evening, nearly two months following the resignation of former Mayor Greg McCunn on May 5.

McCunn was mayor from 2022 to 2024 before his resignation.

Knauss, who served as Chewelah’s mayor from 2014 to 2021, said she’s been involved in city matters since 1979, when she was hired as city clerk.

She held a combined role of city clerk and treasurer until the 1980s, then transitioned to city administrator, a position she held until 1992.

“I left because I had remarried and my husband didn’t want me to work,” Knauss said. “But in 1998 then-Mayor Ron McCoy, who’s now a council member, had a vacancy in the city administrator’s office, and he asked me if I would come back as city administrator. So I came back for a year and a half.”

Knauss said she’s excited to temporarily step back in the role until the elections and hopes during her time to reach out to civic groups.

“No one stands alone, and you know, the city has a certain role to play, the Chamber of Commerce has a role to play, the Veterans Group has a role to play, the arts community and the faith community,” Knauss said.