Dickie Bell winning the seat for the 26th District in the House of Delegates means the Staunton City Council has a soon-to-be vacant seat.

Bell says, "This is my home. I love Staunton. I got into public service and politics because I love it so much."

Bell's open seat is a first for the council

Staunton Mayor Lacy King says, "In a way we are charting new waters for us because this has not been done before."

The council unanimously voted to quickly move forward with selecting an interim council member so that city voters will be able to have the ultimate say sooner.

However, King says Bell's experience will be missed.

King says, "Mr. Bell has been on the council 13, approaching 14 years. That's an awful lot of institutional knowledge to lose."

Bell plans to turn in his resignation in the next few days and to officially leave the council by December 31.

While he won't take part in choosing his replacement, he hopes his position will maintain the balance of the council.

Bell says, "I don't expect them to find someone who thinks exactly like I do or advocates for the very same things that I do. But, I would like to see them find a candidate who balances the thinking here so that we have honest representation, that everybody's voice gets heard."

Applications for the interim council position will be accepted until December 7. The Staunton City Council plans to fill the position by the beginning of next year.

The interim council member will hold that position until a special election in May.