Oak Harbor Mayor Bob Severns appointed a new top lawyer during the city council meeting of Tuesday Feb. 18.

Anna Thompson will act as interim city attorney, filling the void left by former city attorney Nikki Esparza.

In 2011, Thompson received her law degree from Liberty University, a private university in Virginia where she met her husband, Brent Thompson. They both interned at Platte and Buescher in Coupeville.

Anna Thompson began working part time for Oak Harbor in 2013 and became a city clerk in 2014.

She joined the legal department in 2017.

Thompson will act as the interim city attorney for at least three months, after which the council will need to vote to extend her appointment as interim or consider other options such as appointing her as the new city attorney.

Amidst utility rates deliberations on Tuesday, Thomspon said she was “answering the call.”