EASTHAMPTON — David Meunier was sworn in Wednesday night as the newest at-large city councilor by City Clerk Barbara LaBombard.
Meunier, a mechanical contractor and lifelong resident, was welcomed by his fellow councilors at the July 6 meeting.
“It’s an honor and a privilege to serve the city,” Meunier said in an interview.
Meunier replaces Lindsey Rothschild, who resigned from her post on June 30 citing personal reasons, according to a June 16 letter to City Council Homar Gomez.
“As a mother of a rising fourth grader and a business owner, I’ve found myself recently very overwhelmed with also meeting my commitment as a city council member and thus have decided to refocus my time and priorities,” Rothschild wrote in the letter.
After accepting Rothschild’s resignation, Gomez said LaBombard sent Meunier, a former at-large candidate in the Nov. 2, 2021 election, a letter detailing the circumstances and asked if Meunier was interested in assuming the role on the councilas he received the next highest amount of votes in the electionafter Brad Riley, Koni Denham, Lindsey Rothschild and Owen Zaret. Meunier received 14.47% of the ranked-choice votes.
When he ran for the position, he told the Gazette that fixing roads and infrastructure was important to him, and he spoke of making improvements to the city in a way that would not financially burden taxpayers.
Meunier received 1,612 votes in the 2021 election — 147 fewer than At-Large City Councilor Brad Riley.
With Rothschild’s resignation, Gomez said there would be some shifting of councilors among subcommittees. Previously, Rothschild served as the clerk of the Ordinance Committee and chairperson of the Appointment Committee.
Riley will now move from the Public Safety Committee to the Ordinance Committee as well as the Appointment Committee, Gomez said, while Meunier will serve on the Public Safety Committee and the Appointment Committee.
“We also have to reorganize the new committees with a new chairperson and a new clerk,” Gomez said.
