Brookings Mayor Tim Reed was voted to the legislature during last week’s election, leaving the Brookings City Council in search of an interim mayor.

Reed was elected by South Dakota District 7 voters as State Representative. He will resign the mayoral position in December.

“I am excited to represent District 7, which includes all of Brookings and SDSU, in the legislature,” Reed said. “I really appreciate the voters selecting me.”

An interim mayor will take over Reed’s duties following his resignation and continue with current projects in city. New projects and “big changes” will occur once a new mayor is elected in April.

The role of the interim mayor is a four-month position that will end in May after the general election.

Reed is unsure of who the interim mayor will be, but said it’s possible it could be a current city council member.

“Our charter states that if it’s [the applicant] a current council member, they have to give up their seat so we’ll see if any council members want to be the interim mayor,” Reed said.

Another option to fill the position, he said, is for someone to be hired who meets all of the necessary qualities but doesn’t plan on running for mayor.

As almost eight years of being mayor comes to a close, Reed looks to the future.

“I’ll miss being mayor because you know it’s such a great community and I’ve thoroughly loved working with the two [South Dakota State University] presidents … but I’m also looking forward to what we can accomplish at the state level in the future,” Reed said.