The Springfield City Council Monday reelected Michael Fenton as its president. The vote was unanimous.
During the council's organizational meeting, Fenton offered this message to his colleagues, given upcoming political changes nationally.
"If past history is a guide, this year's changing federal administration will bring in with it an increase in political hostility and a decrease in civility" Fenton said. "Let us not fall into that trap. We can rise above the noise and operate our city government with dignity, professionalism and kindness."
The council also unanimously voted Tracye Whitfield as its vice president. She will be replacing Melvin Edwards in that role. She said she looks forward to serving alongside Fenton.
"I am so happy to work beside you, learn from you," Whitfield said. "Anytime I call you, you always answer, you always give me the best advise you can give.”
The council then dealt with the routine task of selecting which desks the members will sit at. City Clerk Gladys Oyola-Lopez went around the room and councilors pulled a number out of a box, corresponding to which seat they would take in the chambers during the next year.
All of the councilors are in their second year of their respective terms, with elections coming later this year.
The Springfield School Committee last week also held a similar meeting. It elected member LaTonia Monroe Naylor as its vice-chairperson.
Now-retired school superintendent Daniel Warwick last year referred to her family in disparaging terms in a voicemail he did not intend to leave, which later became public. That incident led to Warwick’s retirement, which came a few months earlier than anticipated.
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno serves as the chair of the school board, as prescribed by the city’s charter.
