The Monroe County Board of County Commissioners approved a resolution to elect Commissioner George Neugent as Mayor and Commissioner David Rice as Mayor Pro Tem at the Nov. 22, 2016 meeting in Key West. Both are one-year terms.

This is the fourth time Neugent has been elected Mayor. He also held the position in 2000-2001, 2008-2009 and 2012-2013.

Neugent replaces Heather Carruthers, who remains on the Commission. She was re-elected in August to another four-year term.

“Mayor Carruthers, I would just like to applaud you and thank you for your service over the course of the year and for taking on so many of those challenging issues,” Neugent said. “You’ve done a great job and are such a talent on this Commission.”

To make the new Commission official, County Judge William Reagan Ptomey Jr. swore in Carruthers, Danny Kolhage and Sylvia Murphy as Commissioners. Kolhage and Murphy also were re-elected to four-year terms.

“It’s been a real pleasure to serve with good people, and this last year has been especially so,” Rice said. “One of the things I enjoy most is If you don’t have a score card, you have a hard time deciding who is a Democrat and who is a Republican. I think we all know if our country could follow the same process, we probably all would be better off.”