Newcastle council elects Sherlock as mayor, Charbonneau as deputy mayor

The Newcastle City Council elected Council member Sherlock as mayor and Council member Charbonneau as deputy mayor during its first regular meeting of 2026 on Tuesday.

Clerk Jane Westman opened nominations and explained the council’s procedure, saying nominations require no second and a majority vote is needed. Council member Burford nominated Sherlock; Council member Griffin nominated Karen Frost Blakely. Each nominee was given up to three minutes to speak. Sherlock described the mayor’s role in Newcastle’s council-manager system as running meetings efficiently and listening to colleagues and the public; Frost Blakely said experience matters and that she would be honored to serve.

The clerk distributed ballots and read each council member’s vote aloud. The tally produced an election of Sherlock to the mayor’s seat and, in a subsequent process, a unanimous selection of Council member Charbonneau as deputy mayor. After the result was announced, Sherlock assumed the chair and Charbonneau accepted the deputy mayor role.

The council did not take further formal actions related to leadership assignments at the meeting; the clerk and mayor outlined next steps for committee appointments and said committee assignments will be finalized by the council no later than the first meeting in February.

Speakers quoted in this report spoke at the Jan. 6 meeting and are recorded in the public transcript. The council’s chair said an email will be circulated listing committee options and regional appointment opportunities for members.