REVERE — Ward 2 City Councilor Ira Novoselsky was sworn in Monday after an 11-1 vote put him in the City Council president’s seat during the council’s organizational meeting.
Following his election the council voted unanimously to make Councilor at large Jessica Giannino vice president.
“It’s great to see everyone here tonight ”¦ congratulations to our rookie for becoming vice president,” said Novoselsky as he took the podium. “It’s a great honor, and hopefully there won’t be any opportunity for her to take my place.”
The pair were sworn in by City Clerk Ashley E. Melnik, who later had the tables turned on her when she was unanimously reappointed by the council and Novoselsky swore her into office.
“If anyone deserves this job, other than what John Henry did for so many years, it’s Ashley,” he said. “You’ve done more work than anyone expected.”
Henry was City Clerk for just over 30 years. He retired in 2009. Novoselsky said Melnik, however, did “yeoman’s work, chief’s work and it’s my honor to swear you in.”
Much of the first meeting of the year focused on Mayor Daniel Rizzo’s State of the City address, in which he pointed out a string of positive steps his administration has taken over the last year to improve quality of life in the city, but there was another piece of business.
Ward 5 Councilor John Powers asked the more than 100 people attending the meeting to stand for a moment of silence in honor of William Flynn. Flynn was a former Ward 5 councilor, council president and President of Revere Little League. He died Jan. 2.
Powers read a resolution, adopted unanimously by the council, that cited Flynn for his “conspicuous, faithful and honorable service to the city.” And noted that his passing “leaves a vacancy in the official family of the City of Revere that will be difficult to fill.”
Novoselsky said flags were flying at half staff in Flynn’s honor and work was under way to establish a veterans memorial in his honor.
Chris Stevens can be reached at [email protected].
