Three new members, one returning member and a new mayor officially took their place on the Juneau Assembly Monday night.
Along with Mayor Beth Weldon and returning Assembly member Loren Jones, newly elected members Wade Bryson, Michelle Bonnet Hale and Carole Triem took the oath of office.
After a busy municipal election season where two sitting Assembly members resigned to run for mayor, Monday’s meeting restored the Assembly to nine members.
As its first action, the Assembly unanimously appointed Maria Gladziszewski the new deputy mayor.
Weldon also announced her intention to form a committee tasked with examining the city’s role in expanding access to affordable child care.
The previous Assembly rejected a proposed ballot measure asking voters whether they would support raising property taxes to expand child care.
“My main reason of forming this special Assembly committee is to get feedback from the public and figure out exactly what their wishes are,” Weldon said.
She added that she expects the committee to address two key questions: Should child care be a part of municipal activities? And if so, should early education be a part of that?
While the Assembly is complete for now, Assembly member Jesse Kiehl is currently running for the open seat in Senate District Q.
If he wins, he will have to resign his seat. The Assembly would then appoint someone to fill the vacant seat until the next municipal election.
Weldon also thanked Koelsch for his many years of public service as both mayor and as an assembly member.
“As mayor he signed approximately 97 ordinances, 126 appropriating ordinances, 90 resolutions and multiple proclamations,” she said. “He also formed a public safety task force, a mining subcommittee and a homelessness working group. He obviously didn’t sit still while in office.”
City staff gifted Koelsch a silver gavel to mount on his wall and a bronze tináa, or copper shield pendant.
He left each of the Assembly members a coin in their desk drawers.
“If after all of the research and discussion, you still can’t make up your mind, you can flip it,” Koelsch said amid laughter.
Koelsch also took time to recognize outgoing District 2 Assembly member Jerry Nankervis, who’s running for state House District 34 in the Nov. 6 election.
He also recognized Norton Gregory, who resigned his areawide seat in August to run for mayor.
Koelsch said he looked forward to taking another — hopefully permanent — shot at retirement.
