Lorain City Council elects Tony DiMaccia president pro tem, adopts rules after adding 'prayer' amendment

Lorain City Council met for its first organizational meeting of the new term and elected Tony DiMaccia president pro tem after a nomination and unanimous close of nominations. The clerk circulated ballots and the presiding officer announced DiMaccia’s selection before the council resumed its regular agenda.

The council also nominated and unanimously appointed Brianna Do as council clerk and Maggie Parton as deputy clerk for the 02/2027 term.

The body considered a resolution to enact council rules for Jan. 1, 2026, through Dec. 31, 2027 (repealing Resolution 1-24). During debate a councilmember moved to amend Rule 16 to add the word “prayer.” The amendment carried with three dissenting votes recorded in the transcript. After limited further discussion, the resolution as amended was adopted; the clerk recorded the final passage with a single dissent noted in the record.

Supporters of adding the word “prayer” argued that ceremonial or opening prayer recognizes historical references and provides spiritual guidance; one speaker cited passages from Isaiah and said prayer is useful for community welfare. Opponents cautioned that adding prayer would insert religion into council rules and raised concerns about separation of church and state; one councilmember said they pray privately but did not feel comfortable codifying religion in the rules.

No formal legal challenge or further procedural steps were recorded in the meeting; the council member who raised the amendment made the motion on the floor, and the clerk recorded the votes. The council indicated that further rule-specific revisions could be discussed again under later agenda items (11a/11a follow-up).

Next steps: the adopted rules will govern council procedure through 2027 unless rescinded or further amended; items related to rule edits were noted for discussion at later agenda items.