EASTHAMPTON — Lindsey Rothschild is resigning from her post as an at-large member of the City Council, effective June 30.
Rothschild said she issued a letter of resignation to City Council President Homar Gomez on Thursday, citing personal reasons.
“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.
“In my decision to resign, I have been comforted by the budget process that just played out. I am reassured by the knowledge that our current city leaders are committed to working together even through disagreement to reach a shared vision,” she wrote.
Gomez accepted Rothschild’s resignation and described the situation as both sad and happy.
“It’s sad because we are losing a council member, especially in a second term, but something that I always believe is that family is always first,” he said. “I know this decision wasn’t easy. She thought about this decision for probably about a month and she is doing the best thing for her at this time. It’s sad, but people have to do what they believe they have to do for their benefit. She made the right decision for her.”
Moving forward, Gomez said that City Clerk Barbara LaBombard will be sending former at-large candidate David Meunier a letter detailing the circumstances and inquire if he is interested in assuming the role on the council. Meunier received 1,612 votes at the Nov. 2, 2021 election — 147 less than At-Large City Councilor Brad Riley.
“If he says yes, David will be sworn in as a council member. If he says no, we will be looking to a similar process that took place two terms ago when Bill Lynch resigned and then-City Council President Peg Conniff decided to let every single councilor nominate someone,” Gomez said. “If three or more candidates are nominated, we will use rank-choice voting to choose the councilor.”
Emily Thurlow can be reached at ethurlow@gazettenet.com.