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Date: 10/2/2019
EAST LONGMEADOW – Marilyn Richards was selected as the replacement for former Town Council member Joseph Ford’s seat following the resignation of Ford at the Sept. 10 council meeting.
At the Sept. 10 Town Council meeting, President Kathleen Hill announced that Ford formally resigned from his seat, and though he was scheduled to attend that meeting, he could not make it due to a change in his business schedule. In his absence, Hill read a statement from Ford.
The statement reads, “It has been a pleasure to serve the town over the last three and a half years. I am honored to have been a part of this transformation and feel like the council has accomplished a lot for the community. It has been a great learning experience, and I have met some amazing people in town. We have some very important initiatives in front of us and I feel that it is time for me to step down given my time constraints. There are other ways that I can help the town, and I am looking forward to doing this in my next chapter. Again, I want to thank the residents for the opportunity they gave me to serve the town of East Longmeadow.”
Hill thanked Ford for his time on the council and for his service to the town.
On Sept. 24, the council hosted a special meeting where they were able to host three candidates for the open seat: Marilyn Richards, Jonathan Torcia, and Connor O’Shea. Each candidate was given the opportunity to discuss their experience and how it relates to a contribution on the town council. The councilors were then able to ask each candidate questions.
During Richards’ portion of the special meeting, she relayed the list of experience she has collected over the years on various boards, including a eight–year stint on the council on aging board, nine years of service on the select board, 11 years on the planning board, as well as time served on the zoning bylaw sub committee, the general bylaw subcommittee, the planning matters subcommittee, and her current service as the vice chair of the community preservation committee.
“I love our town, it’s obvious that I love to keep busy,” Richards laughed. She added that “truly, this is a great town,” and that she felt if she was appointed that her skills would translate to the town council. She noted she would be honored to serve.
During the questions portion of Richards’ session, town council member Donald Anderson stated that the sheet of accomplishments and service to the town that Richards’ provided to the council “doesn’t do justice” for “all of the commitment” she has made to the town over the years.
Council member Ralph Page stated that for full disclosure, he has served on multiple subcommittees with Richards. “I’ve always admired your hard work – you’ve always put in 110 percent and I thank you for that,” he stated.
Page asked Richards if she felt there was anything the council could improve on. She responded that she “can look at individuals and tell who does their homework and who doesn’t.”
“It’s human nature – I’ve worked on a number of committees with some people who do their homework and some people who don’t. But the more homework you do, the better prepared you are to make a more informed decision. That would be how I would approach it,” she stated.
At the close of the meeting, the council unanimously decided to appoint Richards. She will serve on the council until the end of Fords term, which is up on June 30, 2020. She will have the opportunity to run for a permanent seat on the board next year should she choose to do so.