By Josh Resnek
With one vote and no fanfare, longtime Councilor Rosa DeFlorio was elected Council Chair by her colleagues.
The vote was unanimous, except for newly seated Councilor at Large Gerly Adrien voting “present.”
In other council business, former mayor and present Councilor at Large John Hanlon was elected vice-chairman of the council unanimously.
Thus ended a great deal of inside speculation about who exactly would take over the leadership of the council in the 2020 session.
DeFlorio was out early gathering votes. She was quite confident from the beginning of the “private balloting” that she would prevail.
“I have good friends on the council. I am quite sure I will be the chair,” she told the Leader Herald before balloting.
There had been a great deal of talk about Councilor Mike McLaughlin apparently seeking enough votes to overtake DeFlorio.
This did not materialize.
Also, Adrien was known to have solicited the interest of several councilors for a try at the chairperson’s post.
However, her effort didn’t materialize either.
In the end, DeFlorio got the endorsement of all her colleagues except for Adrien, who voted “present.”
DeFlorio showed some class when she thanked each and every member of the council for their vote, and even embraced Adrien.
What this vote apparently revealed is that when push comes to shove, certain leanings of the council to do for one another in a collegial matter just don’t overtake other perceived imperatives.
“DeFlorio was nominated by Councilor Anothony DiPierro. Hanlon seconded the nomination.
Adrien’s “present” vote appeared to be in line with her desire to remain absolutely independent at least during this initial period of her council tenure.
DeFlorio tends to do the mayor’s bidding.
She is known as well for having a strong independent streak which shows itself from time to time.
She doesn’t like being pushed around by men and doesn’t allow it.