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Only two members of the current City Council, Julie Killian and Laura Brett, will still have their seats when the new council is sworn in in early January. Peter Jovanovich and Richard Filippi's seats will be filled by newly-elected council members Terry McCartney and Kirstin Bucci. Catherine Parker has been elected to the County Board of Legislators and Joe Sack has been elected Mayor of Rye, leaving both of their seats vacant.
The power of filling the two seats will fall to Sack and the new council. According to Rye's Corporation Counsel Kristen Wilson, Sack will have the power to appoint two new members, who would then be voted on by the council. The confirmation of the appointment requires a majority vote by the sitting council, meaning that whoever Sack picks would only need three votes to make it on to the council. The appointees will serve through 2014, and an election for the two seats will be held in November 2014.
No matter who Sack appoints, there will be a Republican majority on the council. Sack, Killian, Brett and McCartney are all Republicans. Bucci is a Democrat who ran on the Republican ticket in this year's election.
The last time that the council had to fill a vacancy was in 2012 when Suzanna Keith stepped down because her family was moving to Texas. Current council member Killian was appointed to fill her spot a month later, and was then elected in November 2012.
Sack said that anybody interested in serving on the council can contact him. He said that he does not intend to have candidates speak to the public, as was done when Keith's seat was filled.
The City Council will not be the only government body facing vacancies next year. Nearly all of the city's boards, commissions and committees will have vacancies when current terms expire at the end of December. Last week Mayor Doug French sent out an email to residents, encouraging them to volunteer to serve. Those interested can forward their resumes to the new City Council.
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