Councilwoman Julie Robison, a veteran of the Cary Town Council, will resign at the end of June with about 18 months of her term remaining. Robison’s family is moving because the councilwoman’s husband, Daniel Robison, has been named a dean of West Virginia University.

“It’s completely bittersweet. There’s no other word for it,” said Robison, who has won three town elections. “I never, ever, once imagined I would be in a situation to leave before my term was over.”

The family learned last Friday that Daniel Robison, currently an associate dean and professor at N.C. State University, will lead the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design at West Virginia University beginning May 31.

Robison, a councilwoman since 2001, will resign her seat after the council votes early this summer on the town’s next budget. She anticipates that the Cary Town Council will appoint a successor to her seat.

With the departure of Robison, a registered Democrat, the nonpartisan board will consist of an even mix of three registered Republicans and three registered Democrats. Robison does not anticipate a politically divisive selection process. “Partisanship has no place on the local level,” she said.

The council last faced a resignation last year, when former council member Erv Portman left for an appointment to the Wake County Board of Commissioners. The council did not replace Portman, as only six months of his term remained. The council took about six months in 2007 to make its most recent appointment.

While Robison’s big move approaches, the councilwoman is contemplating a departure from the town where her family has lived for 15 years.

“We don’t always anticipate these things, but opportunities emerge, and I guess this one called us,” she said.