From left to right: Katie Spain McLaren (3), City Council President Sue Steele and Aaron Vera (4).(Erica Bouska – MediaNews Group)
TROY, N.Y. — The Troy City Council is officially sworn in and ready to serve the community.
On Thursday and Friday, both parties’ members were sworn in; four Republican representatives, two Democratic representatives and the City Council president, also a Democrat. This historic line-up, alongside the city’s first female mayor, begins its term on Monday, Jan. 1.
Due to redistricting, there are no incumbent members in the six district positions. Irene Sorriento is the only returning council member, moving from District 6 to 5, and Sue Steele, the new City Council president, previously served as the representative for District 3. In Troy, the six district seats are two-year terms, while the council president and mayor serve four-year terms.
Steele is the first Democrat elected City Council president, a position, like mayor, that is voted on city-wide. Despite her position in the minority, she said she is looking forward to the progress they will make across party lines.
“I’m optimistic. I’m hopeful that we can get through the few bumps,” she said, also stating that this is the last time she will seek office. “I look forward to four years of consensus to the best of our ability.
“In short, we will be a mighty minority.”
District 6 council member Tom Casey will lead the Republican Majority when the new year comes around. He said being a part of the City of Troy makes him incredibly proud, and now to serve on the council is something else entirely.
“If I can just do one thing in my term that betters Troy,” he said, “I’ll be satisfied, I really will.”
Casey included, many of the new faces — Bill Keal (1), Ryan Brosnan (2), Katie Spain McLaren (3) and Aaron Vera (4) — are looking forward to the change in pace and honoring what they’d spoken with people about in their districts and throughout the city.
“The (first) hundred days is kind of a get-to-know-you period,” Brosnan said. “I already know a lot of the people so I kinda have a leg up there. I’m excited to actually get to work though, with the title. That way, things can get working a little faster.”
Brosnan specifically mentioned some street lights that were still out in his district, an issue he brought up on Election Night as well. That concern for the smaller but still important projects was echoed by other council members.
“Little things here and there, little quality of life things,” said Spain McLaren about her general goals out of the gate. “I think that we can probably make more effective change by doing smaller things throughout rather than trying to tackle huge things all at once.”
But there are still large goals in every council member’s mind and overlap across party lines. For example, both Brosnan and Vera are focused on infrastructure and Vera, Sorriento and Keal all mentioned city services.
“My goals are really about keeping this city safe,” Keal said, adding he wants to make sure the police force has the tools they need. “I don’t know what it is. It seems like there’s a shooting every three weeks or every two weeks, and I hate that.”
Some members also mentioned specific, long-term goals they have like Vera’s idea for a sidewalk improvement program or how Casey said he’d like to look at the possibility of having a City Hall building.
A lot is going to happen in the council’s first hundred days, Steele said. But all the council members said they see great accomplishments coming to the city. Their constituents are excited, and they are too, many of them said.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish in the minority,” Vera said. “We’ll have to see what the majority is interested in accomplishing going forward.”
“We’re still all one Troy,” Sorriento said. “I’m just really excited that we’re gonna move forward, move Troy forward.”
