Three new Ellsworth city councilors, including one who survived a recount effort, were sworn in Monday to begin serving their 3-year terms.
Jon Stein, co-founder and owner of Fogtown Brewing, received the third-most votes in last week’s election, finishing roughly 50 votes ahead of fourth-place finisher John Linnehan. Linnehan requested a recount of the votes for him and Stein. Linnehan gained only one vote in the new tally.
Stein and the top two finishers in the council race — Michelle Beal and Tammy Mote — were sworn into office Monday evening.
Paul Markosian, who was reelected to a 3-year term on the school board, also was sworn in Monday. Bev Sargent, a write-in candidate who received the second-most votes for the school board, was sworn in Tuesday morning, according to City Clerk Toni Dyer.
Beal, Mote and Stein join councilors Dale Hamilton, Casey Hanson, Gene Lyons and Steve O’Halloran on the board. Former councilors Marc Blanchette and Michelle Kaplan opted not to seek reelection, while Robert Miller fell short in his reelection bid.
The council also met briefly Monday evening to decide how it will conduct meetings during the next year. Although Michelle Beal, Ellsworth’s former city manager, was nominated to serve as the next council chair, she declined. Hamilton will keep the post for another year after councilors voted 6-1 to reappoint him, with O’Halloran opposed.
Hamilton, Beal and Mote will serve on the council’s finance committee, which meets at 7:15 a.m. every Friday at City Hall to sign the city’s financial warrants. Sometimes the councilors at those meetings, which are open to the public, also hold workshops to discuss issues but the only action taken at the committee meetings is the signing of warrants.
Hanson agreed to serve as an alternate for the committee.
The council also opted to continue its regular meeting schedule of the third Monday of every month at 6 p.m., with the exception of January and February, when it will meet on the second Monday of the month. The council’s next regular meeting will be next Monday.
The council also voted to continue yearly stipends of $2,500 for the council chair and $2,000 for each of the other councilors.
