Ida and Fran Schwarz always had at least one bumper sticker on their car.

“I believe in Kingfisher,” it read.

Their civic mindedness was passed down, especially to their daughter, Roxie Alexander.

“I grew up with people who made it a point to keep Kingfi sher going, said Alexander, noting her father was a former city commissioner and that former Mayor Vernie Snow “was practically a part of our family.”

“It’s just what we did,” she added.

Alexander carried that on as she was elected to the city commission more than a decade ago.

She then threw her name in the hat to run for mayor in June 2020, winning that race.

“I’ve loved my time with the city,” she said. “I’m a real Kingfisher person and I think we’ve got a lot of great things going.”

But Alexander will be watching those “things” from more of a distance.

The mayor tendered her resignation Monday after the city commission meeting. The resignation was effective immediately.

“I, Roxie Alexander, Mayor of the City of Kingfisher, regretfully resign my position as Mayor,” she wrote in her resignation letter. “Recent injuries from a fall make carrying out my duties extremely difficult.”

Those injuries, combined with Alexander’s term nearly being up, caused her to reach the decision, she told the Times & Free Press.

“My term was going to be up in April (2024) and I didn’t plan to run again,” she said. “And with everything else I’ve got going on, I didn’t feel I was going to be able to do a very good job.

“I just felt this was what’s best for the city.”

Alexander broke a bone in the top of her right foot just over a month ago.

Under doctor’s orders, she’s not been able to put any kind of weight on the foot.

That has caused issues in Alexander’s left foot, which has made “getting around” difficult.

“I can’t get out very easy. I can’t drive. I can’t run down to City Hall if they need me to,” she said. “I can’t go check things out. It’s just been really tough and with all that we’ve got going on here, I felt this change was best for everyone concerned.”

Among the major developments were the commission’s hire of a new city manager.

Alexander was unable to attend the multiple meetings that included interviews and the vote to hire Jim Thomas.

“This is nothing against the new city manager or the city commissioners,” Alexander said. “I was really impressed with him (Thomas) at the meeting and the other commissioners are very smart and will do a good job.”

The task of finding Alexander’s replacement will fall on her fellow commissioners: Vice Mayor Geoff Covalt, Kyle Mecklenburg, Dawn Taylor and Debbie Burpo.

They plan to appoint a new mayor at the next regular meeting, which is Monday, Aug. 14.

Those who wish to seek that appointment are encouraged to submit a letter of interest with any qualifi cations they have to City Hall.

Letters are due by close of business on Friday, Aug. 11.

Commissioners will review the letters and make their appointment, which will be done by majority vote.

The appointment will be effective until the next general election, which is April 2, 2024.