Superior council swears in new members; Warren Bender elected council president and Denise McDonald elected vice president

Newly elected and re-elected members of the City of Superior Common Council were sworn into office during the meeting, and the council selected its leadership for the coming term.

The oath of office was administered to Tom Fennessy (second district alderperson), Jack Sweeny (fourth district alderperson), Terry Masolia (sixth district alderperson), Mike Herrick (eighth district alderperson) and Bob Brown (tenth district alderperson) for the City of Superior in Douglas County, Wisconsin.

The council then moved to select leadership. Warren Bender was nominated and, after a motion and second and a request for a consensus ballot, was elected council president by voice vote. Denise McDonald and Bob Brown were nominated for vice president; the council conducted a roll-call vote, and Denise McDonald was elected vice president by a 6-4 tally.

The mayor and clerk reviewed the council’s nominee-and-vote process before nominations, explaining that nominations require a mover and a seconder and that candidate addresses would be limited to one minute. The clerk conducted the roll call for the vice-presidential vote. The mayor noted that if a tie remained after two roll-call votes a secret ballot could be used and that the mayor has statutory authority to break an initial tie.

Actions recorded at the meeting reflect the formal selections: nomination and consensus approval of Warren Bender for council president and a roll-call election resulting in Denise McDonald’s selection as vice president, 6 to 4.

The swearing-in, leadership selection and roll-call vote concluded early in the meeting and were followed by the council’s regular agenda.