(ABC 6 News) — On Tuesday evening, the Claremont City Council appointed Ryan Hedberg as acting mayor.

This comes after the council determined the candidate who won the Nov. 5 election didn’t meet the qualifications to run for the seat, according to city officials.

Related: Claremont City Council to appoint new mayor

Casey Striver earned an unexpected victory in the race as a write-in candidate, but shortly after winning the seat, concerns arose that Striver wasn’t actually a resident of the city.

Hedberg now takes over and has served on the council since March 2024.

“I just wanted to help the community out, run the meeting, so we can move forward to find the future mayor of Claremont,” Hedberg said.

Applications for the permanent mayoral role will be accepted starting Wednesday, January 8. The deadline is January 27 at 3 p.m.

“Residents of Claremont don’t feel like they’ve been heard. We finally got some clarity tonight, and maybe we can return a little of the power back to the people,” Timothy Hudson, resident of Claremont, said.

The City Council will meet in a special session on Jan. 27 at 7p.m. to review applications and make a decision on who will be the next mayor.

The official mayor will be announced at the following council meeting in February.

A special election will not be held to determine the next mayor, according to the council.

Hedberg said he has no intentions of becoming the permanent mayor, nor do any of the other councilmembers.