Oak Harbor City Council booted the mayor from the Island Transit board for the new year.

On Tuesday, council members criticized Mayor Scott Dudley while a handful of audience members asked them to let Dudley stay and berated Councilman Joel Servatius for trying to take a seat on the board during the last IT board meeting.

“I saw a display of childish political grandstanding by Councilman Servatius,” said Jeff Lauderdale, former Island County commissioner candidate, “and I think he embarrassed himself, this council and the city of Oak Harbor.”

The majority of council members defended Servatius, saying that it’s up to the council to decide who represents the city on the IT board, and they wanted Servatius at that meeting.

Several council members also chastised Dudley for visiting the Langley and Coupeville councils to urge their elected officials to change their representatives on the transit board.

“It is not up to us, or our representative, to go around telling other municipalities who they should or should not appoint,” Councilwoman Tara Hizon said.

The council named Councilman Rick Almberg to be the city’s representative on the IT board, which is composed of five elected officials — two from the county and one from three municipalities. Almberg starts at the beginning of January, leaving Dudley one last IT meeting.

In addition, both Island County Commissioner Jill Johnson and new Commissioner Rick Hannold have said they want to be appointed to the IT board; Commissioner Helen Price Johnson is currently on the board and Aubrey Vaughan is no longer a county commissioner.

It will be up to the Coupeville Town Council and Langley City Council to determine who they want as representatives.

Oak Harbor’s council appointed Dudley to the IT board in the fall after Councilman Jim Campbell resigned in light of financial problems; Campbell urged the other board members to follow his lead, but none did.

At the beginning of the Tuesday’s meeting, Councilman Bob Severns made a motion to add the issue of representation on the Island Transit board to the agenda.

Four members of the audience spoke on the issue.

Servatius took part in the interviewing process for the interim Island Transit director. He informally asked the council for permission to continue on the board for the vote on the contract.

Some council members nodded in agreement, but it wasn’t official. Island Transit’s attorney said Dudley was still the representative.

Audience members urged the council to keep Dudley on the board, saying he has done a lot of research and was instrumental in replacing the director.

“Mr. Dudley needs to stay,” Chuck Krieg said. “The existing board needs to change.”

Severns and Almberg said they want to serve on the IT board and spoke about their qualifications. Severns later withdrew his request after noting that he is on the board of a bank that loaned money to Island Transit.

Councilwoman Beth Munns’ moved to name Almberg to the board for 2015. That motion passed 5-1; Campbell voted against it. Councilman Danny Paggao was absent Tuesday.

Munns thanked Dudley for his work on the board and “getting the ball rolling.”

Afterward, Dudley said the council’s decision to replace him was completely political.

Dudley, who faces reelection next year, has never been popular with the majority of the council.

The council’s decision is not in the best interest of the city or Island Transit, he said.

“I’ve been the only one who’s been passionate about righting the ship,” he said.

“I’ve done more in two-and-a-half months than some of the board members have done in 11 years.”