Moss In Line To Be Tacoma's Mayor

TACOMA - City Councilman Harold Moss is in line to become the city's first black mayor.

At tonight's regular meeting, the Tacoma City Council is expected to unanimously appoint Moss, 63, to serve as interim mayor until elections in 1995.

Council members had to scramble to choose an interim mayor after Jack Hyde died last week of a heart attack after two weeks in office. Moss quickly emerged as the council's top choice.

A close friend of Hyde's, Moss has served as acting mayor since Hyde's death.

"You look for someone with interpersonal skills, the ability to work effectively with others," Councilman Bill Baarsma said yesterday. "We're all of a mind that Harold has those skills."

Moss, a native of Texas, has served on the council since 1987. He can't run for the $40,000-a-year mayor's job because of city term limits. City Hall observers say that played in his favor by removing the question of the interim mayor having an edge in next year's city elections.

Moss said he plans to continue to work as a civil-rights manager for the state Department of Transportation. He will treat the mayor's post, he said, as a part-time job.

Moss said he plans to push Hyde's anti-crime and economic-development platforms. Creating a council public-safety committee will be a top priority, he said yesterday.