Griesemer Re-elected as Town Council President; Ryan to Be Vice President

Report on the Meeting of the Town Council January 13, 2025,  Part 1

This meeting was held in hybrid format and was recorded.

Present
Lynn Griesemer (President, District 2), Andy Steinberg, Mandi Jo Hanneke, Ellisha Walker (at large), Cathy Schoen and Freke Ette (District 1), George Ryan and Hala Lord (District 3), Jennifer Taub and Pam Rooney (District 4), Bob Hegner and Ana Devlin Gauthier (District 5). Staff: Paul Bockelman  (Town Manager) and Athena O’Keeffe (Council Clerk).

Griesemer Elected to Seventh Year as Council President
Since its inception in December 2018, Lynn Griesemer (District 2) has been the Town Council’s president. She was re-elected without opposition to a seventh one-year term by a 10-0-2-1 vote, with councilors Ellisha Walker (at large) and Ana Devlin Gauthier (District 5) abstaining, and Mandi Jo Hanneke voting for “none of the candidates.” 

Griesemer was nominated by fellow District 2 Councilor Pat DeAngelis. In her candidate statement, Griesemer thanked the other councilors for their participation in town events. She listed several areas she has tried to focus on, saying, “I am still committed to ways to make the job of the President, the Vice President, committee chairs and co-chairs, and all councilors more doable; how to effectively evaluate and prioritize issues as they are introduced to the council, and how to increase greater understanding of the issues and actions that the council may or may not take and the consequences of those actions.” This year, she added goals for improving communications with the public and shortening council meetings.

Griesemer’s nomination met with generally positive remarks, but Hanneke raised objections. She said, “Actions speak louder than words. For six years, councilors have talked about the need for change in leadership at all levels in order to maintain a healthy body. We’ve even adopted policies that limit the number of years residents can serve on the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, and Finance Committee to six. Yet for the last six years, the council has had the same President. Every time a councilor has challenged the current President, others have agreed that change might be good in theory, but that the challenging candidate is just not ready or it’s not the right time to change. 

“Each year Lynn promises that she will do things different if reelected President. Yet, each year, within a few weeks or months, she reverts back to her old ways. The only representation Lynn shared was ceremonial, done three years after her first promise to do so. Councilors were not invited to share representation with our elected representatives, the BID, Chamber, or others. After February, there was nary an invite from Lynn to attend agenda setting. I want a Council President who shares representation and does not keep their 12 fellow councilors in the dark regarding the content of meetings they attend that the rest of us aren’t invited to.”

Cathy Schoen (District 1) supported Griesemer, noting how she was willing to shorten meetings by removing items from the agenda that were not pressing and that she took the time to attend most meetings of council committees. Schoen mentioned that “it is a symptom of other things going on that the council doesn’t get enough people who want to run for council seats, not just enough who want to take over the presidency.” Jennifer Taub (District 4) also voiced her support for Griesemer. She said, “Lynn and I often bring different perspectives, but I do appreciate all the time and care that Lynn puts into leading the council. I think it would be healthy for there to be new leadership on the council, but I don’t see a lot of people stepping up, and Lynn does.”

Hala Lord (District 3) stated that, as a new member of the council, she was grateful to Griesemer for always taking the time to explain things without making her feel ashamed or patronized.

After Griesemer was elected, she was sworn in by Council Clerk Athena O’Keeffe.

Ryan Elected as Council Vice President on Second Ballot
Devlin Gauthier, the current vice-president, nominated George Ryan (District 3) for that position, and Pam Rooney (District 4) nominated Schoen. With Griesemer  and Lord abstaining on the first vote, the result was 6-5-2 in favor of Ryan—short of the seven votes needed to be elected. On a second ballot, Griesemer voted for Ryan, making the vote 7-5-1 and giving him the needed votes.

Ryan stated, “After five years on the council, this is something I think I can do, and I would be willing to do. I value collegiality. I think you also hopefully know that I’m someone you can talk to, and that I’m open to your thoughts. I know I can work well with Lynn.”

In her candidate statement, Schoen stated, “I’m completing six years on the council. This time around, we have a series of legislative issues beyond the Town Council purview that are important for our legislators to hear about and also to start thinking of. Lynn has opened up, and Ana laid a road for those regular meetings with Mindy (Domb) and Jo (Comerford), and I think they’re very important. For those of you who watched me on the school building committee, I know how to chair a meeting when I need to, but I also think the range of issues we deal with presents an opportunity to split up some of the responsibilities, so I’m honored to be nominated.”

In support of Ryan, Devlin Gauthier stated that, after serving as Council Vice President for the past three years, “it became abundantly clear to me that for the health of this body, we need to continue to vary our leadership. We need to elevate voices into roles that have not been there before so that we do not become stuck in a way of existing and functioning that is personality dependent.” Devlin Gauthier went on to note that in working with Ryan on the Governance, Organization, and Legislation (GOL) committee, she has been impressed with his balanced approach and positive attitude, as well as his contributions to the committee.

In support of Schoen, Rooney cited the thoroughness with which she does her homework and follows through and stated that she will fight hard for actions that are important to her, but if out-voted, she will drop the issue and move on. Rooney also noted that Schoen brings a “huge  range of information and knowledge from her past life to everything she does, and I haven’t yet bumped into someone on the council that does the homework Cathy Schoen does.” She thought Lynn and Cathy would be a good team “representing oftentimes different perspectives.” Taub characterized Schoen as running independently and cautioned that “having a President and Vice President who are not strongly supported and, I think, closely associated with one of the political action committees would be a better balance.”

Andy Steinberg (at large) and Pat DeAngelis voiced support for Ryan. DeAngelis stated that Ryan has been committed to service his whole life and knows and can relate to townspeople in all walks of life and different circumstances.

After Ryan received seven votes on the second ballot, he was sworn in as Council Vice President.