Pasco City Council tags CM Milne to succeed US Attorney Serrano as mayor

(The Center Square) - Local officials unanimously appointed Councilmember David Milne as mayor of Pasco on Monday after the former city head left the seat for a gig with the Trump administration.

Milne will lead the Pasco City Council until at least next year, succeeding former Mayor Pete Serrano, now interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Washington. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Serrano to the position on Aug. 6, as he now awaits his confirmation by the U.S. Senate.

Pasco has a council-manager form of government, meaning residents elect council members who then appoint a mayor to act as the head of the dais. These officials are responsible for policymaking, while City Manager Harold Stewart, whom they hired last month, handles the government’s daily operations.

“Is there any other nominations on the floor? Seeing none, looks like I’m extremely lucky,” Milne said.

The officials also selected Councilmember Charles Grimm as mayor pro tem, who takes on the mayor’s duties when that person is unavailable. Milne and Grimm will fill these positions until at least Dec. 31, but the council only has until mid-November to appoint an interim replacement to represent District 4.

Serrano filed to run unopposed for reelection this fall before Bondi tagged him at the U.S. Department of Justice. State law requires Pasco to fill Serrano’s seat within 90 days of his Aug. 10 resignation, but since his term ends at the end of 2025, the officials must appoint another interim member next year.

Assistant City Manager Angela Pashon said Serrano will have to resign again this fall if voters re-elect him as the sole candidate. City Attorney Eric Ferguson noted that, unless a write-in somehow prevails, the council will appoint someone else to represent District 4 until the next election cycle around 2027.

“There would be two appointment processes, completely separate,” Ferguson said. “If you don’t fill the position, then the county commissioners fill the position for you. If the county commissioners don’t fill it for another [180] days … essentially it goes to the governor, and the governor fills the position.”

He said the clock is ticking, but noted that the council wouldn’t face fines if they didn’t fill the seat.

The council agreed to leave the applications open for a few weeks until reviewing applicants on Sept. 8 and interviewing a few finalists on Sept. 15.