By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD – The Town Council has two new members and, as of last night, it also has new leadership.
Newly elected Town Councilors John Carney and Douglas Butler attended their first meeting since being elected in the April 23 Town Election.
Carney is no stranger to the board, having served multiple terms back when the body was known as the Board of Selectmen. Butler has also been around town government, having served 16 years on the Finance Committee.
Butler and Carney replaced former Town Councilors Anne Danehy and Julie Smith-Galvin, both of whom chose not to seek re-election last month.
At the end of last night’s meeting, Town Councilors also decided who will lead the board for the coming year.
Councilor Edward Dombroski nominated Michael McLane as chairman. For the past year, McLane has served as vice chairman under the chairmanship of Jonathan Chines.
The vote for McLane was 5-0. McLane abstained from voting for himself. Councilor Mehreen Butt also abstained.
Mclane is in the third year of his first term on the Town Council, having been elected in 2022.
Taking over as chairman, McLane called for nominations for vice chairman. Councilor Robert Vincent nominated Councilor Edward Dombroski, who accepted the nomination. The vote electing Dombroski as vice chairman was 7-0. Dombroski is in his third term on the Town Council. He previously chaired the board from 2019 to 2020.
Both McLane and Dombroski are attorneys.
After assuming the chairmanship, McLane asked his colleagues to think about what subcommittees they would be interested in serving on. He also asked that each member submit a couple of priority issues that they would be interested in pursuing over the coming year.
Regarding meeting agendas, McLane asked members to try to submit matters for the agenda by Tuesday of the week prior to Town Council meetings, which normally take place on Mondays. This, he said, would allow the staff sufficient time to prepare the agenda and assemble meeting materials. He acknowledged that there may be occasions when matters arise after the Tuesday deadline.
The Town Council normally meets on the second and fourth Mondays of the month, but Monday, May 27 is Memorial Day, so the next Town Council meeting will be on Monday, June 10.