There has been a change on the McKinney City Council as at-large council member Randy Pogue was appointed mayor pro tem during the Council’s June 7 meeting. McKinney City Council member are, from left: Don Day, Randy Pogue, Mayor Pro Tem Travis Ussery (seated), Tracy Rath, Rainey Rogers, Mayor Brian Loughmiller (seated) and Chuck Branch.[/caption] Former Mayor Pro Tem Travis Ussery, who held the position for six years, nominated Pogue for the position. "I have been blessed to serve coming up on 25 years in some capacity or another,” Ussery said. “That is not a resumé I say with vanity; it is one I say with pride. The seats I have held—whether it was on boards or commissions or in this seat—are not our seats but the city's seats. We just lease them subject to voter approval. This position that I hold [as Mayor Pro Tem] has also been leased and I have been honored to have it.” Ussery is a second-generation council member and represents District 3, a district he has called home since birth. According to the city charter, Council must hold mayor pro tem elections every year. McKinney Mayor Brian Loughmiller said the role of mayor pro tem is to serve as mayor in the sitting mayor’s absence, that includes being required to fill in at events, lead meetings, act as lead in emergency situations and as the ceremonial head of the city. "For the past six years, Travis Ussery has served in this role and has done so admirably," Loughmiller said. "He has attended probably 99 percent of the events I attend anyway and is always there in my absence. He has done a very great job in this role and outside of myself and Mr. Day is the longest tenured council member. Travis has done a phenomenal job and I know Randy will do a phenomenal job as well." Newly appointed Mayor Pro Tem Randy Pogue, who is also running for mayor in the 2017 elections, thanked Ussery and the rest of the council for having the confidence in him to place him in the position. "It has been an honor for me to serve as a council member at-large since 2013,” Pogue said. “I’d like to thank the citizens of McKinney for putting me in this position. I have been proud of my record as a council person, the votes I have cast and the procedures and processes that I have aided or helped change. I’d like to continue that and continue building the reputation of the city and the relationships with those we have come in contact doing this work.” Pogue said McKinney is a great place to work, adding that he is proud to be a part of the business community within the city. “The foundation of the city is very strong, but we are at a precipice of deciding where we are going to go, what we are going to do and what we are going to be when we grow up,” he said.