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Cornwall Borough Council agreed to appoint local business owner Nathan Walmer to council at December’s meeting.
Walmer will serve the two-year remainder of former councilman Al Brandt’s term, and at that time will be up for reelection.
While council has not yet received an official resignation letter from Brandt, Brandt has communicated to chairman Bruce Harris that he has both moved out of the borough and registered to vote in a new municipality.
Walmer previously ran for the position, ultimately losing by 14 votes. He and wife Jessica run landscaping business Pondscapes and Patios.
In opposition to Walmer’s appointment were Ron Ricard and Bruce Conrad.
“I’m very concerned about the optics of what we’re doing with this. I don’t know this gentleman very well at all, but in the primary he lost,” Conrad explained. “The voters did not put him in this position, and now we’re putting him on council.
“I’m concerned about how this looks to the voters.”
Before Walmer was selected, councilwoman Beth Yocum nominated local Julie Bowman, noting that as of now she is the only woman on council.
When put to a vote, all other members of council were opposed, and the motion failed.
Walmer was not present at the December meeting, as he was not made aware beforehand that his letter of interest would be selected.
He along with newly elected councilman Tony Fitzgibbons were sworn in at the council’s reorganization meeting Tuesday, Jan. 2.
Ricard also announced that he will let his term expire at the end of the year at December’s meeting.
He said part of his reasoning for not running for reelection is that he saw the number of qualified candidates who submitted letters of interest to fill Brandt’s seat.
Cornwall Borough Council meets the second Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. These meetings are open to the public and do not require prior registration.
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