The South Bend Common Council elected third district council member Sharon McBride as its new president Monday.
Second district council member Henry Davis, Jr. had announced his candidacy for the position, but only received votes from himself and at-large member Lori Hamann.
In a statement before her vote for Davis, Hamann said it was “of the utmost importance” to protect the independence of the council “as a co-equal branch of city government.”
“We need to strike a delicate balance between working collaboratively with the admin, and respectfully calling them out when it is appropriate,” Hamann said.
Sixth district council member Sheila Niezgodski was elected unopposed as Vice President, with Davis and Hamann voting no.
First district council member Canneth Lee was elected as chair of the council’s Committee of the Whole, with Davis and Hamann voting no.
“My concern is that he is not a duly elected council member, he is appointed,” Hamann said. “The people of the first district have not yet had a voice in this process, and I do not believe it is proper to place him in leadership until he is elected.”
Lee was not present at the Monday meeting.
The council also unanimously voted to retain attorney Bob Palmer for another year.
Contact Jakob at jlazzaro@wvpe.org or follow him on Twitter at @JakobLazzaro.
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