Normandy Park Mayor George Hadley Mayor announced his resignation from the council on Monday, March 8 as he undergoes treatment for cancer.
Hadley was diagnosed in January with Glioblastoma Multiforme, the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer.
Normandy Park is taking applications until April 5 to fill the empty council position. The new council member will serve out the term, which goes until December.
Normandy Park Mayor Pro-Tem Clarke Bryant is the acting mayor until a new council member is selected and the council votes on a new mayor.
Shulze said he anticipates the council will appoint a new member to the council at the May 10 council meeting. At that meeting, they will decide on an appointment to the mayor position, Shulze said.
He said the council will be looking for some of the same strengths Hadley brought to the council.
“We refer to him as 'Green George,'” Shulze said. He said the nickname came from a council retreat they had in 2007 where each member took a personality trait test. Personality traits were assigned different colors.
Shulze said Hadley was the only one on the council who was green, which describes his personality as analytical, detail oriented and needing all of the information before making a decision.
“He was the one on the council who really rolled up his sleeves and got down to the details,” Shulze said. “He added a perspective to the council that was different from all of the others.”
Hadley has served on the council since 2004. Prior to serving on the city council, Hadley was on Normandy Park's Board of Adjustment.
On the council, he served as mayor Pro-Tem from 2006-2009, before being elected mayor in 2010.
In December 2010, Hadley received an Advanced Certificate of Leadership from the Association of Washington Cities (AWC). To earn this certificate he completed over 60 hours of training credits and demonstrated valuable service to his community.
Shulze said Hadley has always had a lot of energy.
“Probably the area where George is most passionate is emergency preparedness,” Shulze said. Hadley went to numerous emergency preparedness classes and even organized an emergency preparedness fair for a couple of years.
Shulze said Hadley cares for people and loves the community, and has always wanted to do what he could to make the community better. He said Hadley is always full of energy and ideas.
“I have no idea where he got all of his time,” Shulze said.
Hadley graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with an SB Degree in mathematics in 1965. He also attended the University of Stuttgart, in Germany, from 1973-1975.
He retired from Boeing in 1998 and since then has been an active member in the community, volunteering not only in Normandy Park but also in the surrounding area.
Hadley has lived with his wife Nancy in Normandy Park for almost 30 years.
He is currently in the hospital as he undergoes treatment for his cancer. Shulze said he and other city staff members have been visiting him as much as they can.
“I consider George to be a true friend,” Shulze said. “He's got a big heart.”