More than 75 years after incorporation, the City of McCleary has its first female mayor.

City Councilwoman Brenda Orffer was selected to replace Brent Schiller after he resigned earlier this month after accepting a promotion with the state Department of Transportation.

Orffer was elected to the council in 2015. She had moved to McCleary from her small childhood home in Burnham, Maine in 1993 when she and her husband were married. She decided to run for the council when the city was considering contracting police services with the county and dissolving the local force.

“I decided to get involved with that conversation, to work together to save the police department,” she said. She was encouraged to run for council by friends and colleagues and has been on the council in position 1 for three years.

Schiller called her shortly before resigning as she was already Mayor Pro Tem. After discussing it with Schiller, her friends and family and fellow council members, she accepted the title of mayor at a recent council meeting.

“I thought Brent was a really good leader,” she said, saying if he hadn’t resigned she would still be a strong supporter of his leadership. “I’m excited to do it, very happy to step in.”

The City of McCleary faces challenges similar to other small, rural cities in the region, but it also has great potential for development and growth, said Orffer.

“We’re constantly making sure we have the revenue to keep our vital services,” she said, including police, fire and schools. “We are also trying to make sure we have adequate housing, places to grow.”

Located just 20 minutes or so west of Olympia, Orffer recognizes that as people who work for the state or elsewhere in the rapidly expanding city may be looking for a place to bring their families to live in a much quieter and more affordable area. To promote that, Orffer is constantly looking at ways to attract developers to McCleary.

“I’ve tried to develop incentives for developers to look at projects here,” she said. “We are close to Olympia and we have a great quality of life here; this would be a good bedroom community for them.”

Orffer and her husband will celebrate 25 years of marriage this year. They have two daughters, ageed 17 and 19. When one of her daughters was about 10, the town suffered a mystery and tragedy that changed the way local parents raised their children — the disappearance of Lindsey Baum in the summer of 2009.

“My older daughter is the same age as Lindsey and she, my daughter and another friend played together,” said Orffer. While she was not close to the Baum family, in a tight-knit small community everyone felt the impact of the disappearance and, nine years later, shared in the family’s grief when it was announced in May that Lindsey’s remains were identified after being found in a remote area of Kittitas County.

“It definitely changed the way parents raised their kids,” said Orffer. Before, nobody thought twice of letting their kids wander off on their own to visit friends or the simple act of letting them walk to school unsupervised. That changed after the disappearance, said Orffer.

“I hope the family got a little relief (when they were told their daughter had been found), but it’s very sad, not the outcome we were hoping for,” she added. “I can’t imagine the grief she (Melissa Baum, Lindsey’s mother) has suffered, and there are still so many unanswered questions.”

Orffer has worked as executive vice president of the Washington Health Care Association for more than 20 years. The organization lists its mission as promoting quality long-term and post acute health care and services, while advocating for providers, staff, and the patients and residents they care for. Association members provide health and personal care, social support and housing to 25,000 frail, elderly, or disabled Washingtonians each day. About 25,000 employees work for member facilities, according to their web site.

Orffer likens her work with the city to her gig with the Washington Health Care Authority; as mayor of McCleary and executive vice president, it is her job to provide a service to city residents and the members of her organization.

“I enjoy the work,” Orffer said of both of her jobs. “We (the health care authority) act as a service agency to our members, and as mayor and a City Council member I like to be of service to others.”