Officials sworn in at nonpartisan ceremony
Republicans take control of council for first time in city’s history
All but two of the city’s newly elected public officials were sworn in Thursday night in what Portage Mayorelect Austin Bonta hopes will become a nonpartisan tradition for the city.
This is the first time in the city’s history to have a Republican majority on the council.
Councilwoman Gina Giese-Hurst, D-1st, was sworn in by Mayor Sue Lynch on Tuesday when her daughter was in town to witness it. Councilman Colin Czilli, D-5th, couldn’t attend Thursday.
Councilman Ferdinand Alvarez, D-At-large, proudly brought his family onstage to witness his oath of office, something other newly elected officials also did.
“What a year it has been,” Bonta said after being sworn in.
He stressed the chain of command in the city begins with the voters and citizens, followed by the mayor, his incoming chief of staff Lee Ann Van Curen, then his department heads.
Bonta received a standing ovation from the large crowd filling Woodland Park’s Sycamore Hall.
“Thanks for being here, Boss,” he told the crowd.
Incoming Councilman Robert “Bob” Parnell, R-2nd, senior pastor at Black Oak Baptist Church in Gary, brought in a supply of Bibles for the swearing-in ceremony so no one would forget to bring one or lose a treasured family Bible, Bonta said.
Parnell said the newly elected officials had a training session at Fair Oaks Farms recently and plan to get additional training in Indianapolis next month.
This was the first time Parnell has run for office, he said. He called his opponent, Democrat Pete Trinidad Jr., “a great man, most definitely.”
When the election returns came in, Parnell was excited, winning by a little over two dozen votes.
“I bawled like a baby,” Councilman-elect Penny Ambler, R-4th, said, on election night when she found out she won.
Her goals upon taking office include increasing the number of businesses in the city, including a bakery, and bringing sidewalks to a dangerous area in the Swanson Road area. A child was struck in a traffic accident there a few months ago, she noted.
Councilwoman-elect Victoria Grisham, R-3rd, said she wants to
make sure the city moves forward with the vision its founders exemplified when Portage became a town in 1959 and a city in 1967. The comprehensive plan that citizens will help draft will be used to guide the city’s next steps toward the future, she added.
Upon taking office, Grisham plans to sit down with department heads and employees of the various departments so she can make sure their concerns are being heard.
Incoming Clerk-Treasurer Elizabeth “Liz” Modesto, a Democrat and former member of the City Council, said she plans to acclimate herself to the office and see what the employees do. She thanked the voters, her campaign committee and her family for their support during the election.
“I had a lot of people helping me,” she said. “I will do a good job for the citizens of Portage.”