With the inauguration of the new City Council just under a month away, Councilor Brendan Rielly has emerged as the likely successor to outgoing Council President Jim Violette.
On Monday, Rielly said he was interested in the post of council president and he hopes to be elected when the new council is sworn in on Jan. 9. Rielly said he has spoken to the other members of the City Council and they have all indicated to him that they will support him.
“Brendan has my total support,” said Councilor John O’Hara. “I think he will represent the council and the city extremely well.”
Councilor Suzanne Joyce who has served with Rielly on the council for more than two years said she also would support his bid to become council president. She called Rielly a seasoned councilor who she feels is the best person for the job.
“It’s the logical choice,” she said. “I fully support him, and he can do a great job.”
Experience was also a factor for Councilor Ed Symbol, who will be serving his first full term on the council after taking over for Councilor Gary Groves earlier this year. “He has the demeanor to be a good council president,” Symbol said.
Rielly said he was flattered that his fellow councilors favored making him the next council president. “I’m very honored,” he said.
While Rielly said he knows nothing is official until the council votes on Jan. 9, he has already been making plans to implement some changes for the next council. He is planning a proposal to create two new committees and restructure some of the existing ones.
“Whenever you have a new council, it’s always an opportunity to restructure things,” Rielly said.
Under Rielly’s proposal, the majority of the council’s committees would remain the same. The Economic Development Committee, which currently focuses on commercial and residential development, would concentrate solely on commercial economic development. Rielly said the new Growth and Traffic Committee would focus on residential growth as well as any issues pertaining to traffic.
“Traffic is such as huge issue right now,” he said.
The other proposed change is to the Highways Committee and the Buildings and Facilities Committee. Rielly said he plans to propose merging those two committees into one Facilities and Streets Committee, which would deal with all questions regarding the city’s facilities and streets, with the exception of traffic issues.
Rielly said he has been thinking about the changes for some time, and he feels they would help by more clearly defining the role of each committee.
O’Hara said while he hasn’t had a chance to fully look over Rielly’s proposal, in general he supports the changes. “I’m not afraid to try anything as long as I think it will work in the best interest of the community,” he said. “Not all change is bad.”
No matter how the council changes in the coming year, O’Hara said the important thing is for Westbrook to continue the progress it has made recently. “We have climbed the ladder of success and now we have to make sure we don’t fall off,” he said.
Rielly Ward 1 City Councilor Brendan Rielly is looking to succeed Jim Violette as City Council president when the new council is sworn in Jan. 9.Send questions/comments to the editors.
