Extend warm welcome to new council members

Tuesday, the city welcomed its two new council members, Matt Fox and Sherri Jorgensen. I wish them all the best as they begin this new chapter in their lives.

Serving on behalf of the city is not an easy job. It will likely take them a month or two to become acclimated to their new roles, while learning the ins and outs of sitting on council, proper conduct for a public meeting and their way around City Hall. Fortunately, they can get the guidance they need from their fellow council members as well as staff.

They will have plenty of hard decisions — and hopefully some easy ones — to make during their terms. They will have lots of homework to do, city events and meetings to attend and council assignments they will be responsible for.

It won’t be easy. If they thought campaigning was tough, just wait until they vote on a controversial issue — or a noncontroversial one. No matter what decision they make, someone won’t like it — and will probably complain about it loudly.

Everything they say and do will be scrutinized under a microscope for years to come. Even decisions and actions that happened long before Councilman Fox or Councilwoman Jorgensen attended their first meeting continue to be brought up to make a point.

At least that’s what I have witnessed.

It’s good to remember our history, but we also need to focus on the future.

Whether or not you voted for either of the new council members, they have been elected and deserve some respect. If you don’t like or respect them, then at least respect the positions they hold and give them the opportunity to serve.

I also want to extend thanks and gratitude to the two outgoing councilwomen, Tracy Folda and Judith Hoskins. Whether or not you agreed with their actions, I’m sure whatever they did or said was with the best intentions, doing what they thought was necessary to make Boulder City the best place to live.

And I have no doubt that the new council members have the same good intentions.

The next few months will be a time of transition as they learn what is involved in being a member of the City Council.

At the same time, we will be welcoming a new city manager, Taylour Tedder, who is set to begin Aug. 9. The new city attorney, Brittany Walker, is already settling into her role and the new city clerk, Tami McKay, is awaiting a formal contract. Luckily for the residents of Boulder City, McKay has been employed by the city since December 2010 and is very familiar with municipal operations.

Without a crystal ball, no one knows exactly what the future holds, but one thing is certain. We have two new council members and they are ready, willing and able to tackle the job.

Let’s put out the welcome mat.

Hali Bernstein Saylor is editor of the Boulder City Review. She can be reached at hsaylor@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9523. Follow @HalisComment on Twitter.