EASTHAMPTON — A familiar face has returned to the City Council after a competitive appointment process at Wednesday night’s meeting.

Former council president Peg Conniff was chosen to fill an at-large position left vacant by the resignation of Owen Zaret. She beat out a pool of six candidates thanks to her unique expertise, which she said will allow her to “hit the ground running” and aid the council as budget season approaches.

“I decided to apply for the City Council vacancy primarily because I believe I am uniquely qualified and have the relevant experience to fill this position right now,” Conniff told the council at Wednesday’s meeting. “I understand the legislative processes and the procedures and the City Council rules. I could step in seamlessly without a steep learning curve.”

Conniff shared that she and her wife Deb moved to Easthampton 13 years ago, and she spent six of those years serving on the City Council, two as council president.

During those years, Conniff was a member of the council Finance Committee, Ordinance Committee, Rules and Government Relations Committee, and Appointments Committee. As a member of the Ordinance Committee, Conniff helped to craft the cannabis ordinance which she said “allowed the city to generate additional revenue streams as an early adopter.”

In 2019, Conniff also co-sponsored the Welcoming Community Trust Ordinance alongside former city councilor and current State Rep. Homar Gomez, which was reaffirmed by the city earlier this month.

“My focus was and always has been on problem solving and getting results,” Conniff said.

Nathan Markee, chair of the Easthampton Democratic City Committee, endorsed Conniff’s candidacy for the council seat at the meeting, saying that he works with Conniff in her capacity as vice chair of the committee, and finds her “helpful” and “sincere.”

“I also believe that going into budget season, you need somebody who’s competent and has filled the role before, including as president of the City Council,” said Markee.

Zaret stepped down from the council earlier this month amid a request for censure by the School Committee which alleged “inappropriate” behavior on Zaret’s part, while Zaret said the censure was rooted in antisemitism.

Conniff, who served on the council with Zaret, spoke at a January council meeting regarding the censure request to say that she had been “bullied” and “harassed” regularly by Zaret during her time as council president in 2020 and 2021. Conniff did not seek reelection in 2021.

Conniff said that she does not plan to seek reelection this November either, and hopes to see just as much competition as she saw on Wednesday when her seat is open for a full term.

The City Council elected Conniff through a ranked-choice voting process. The other candidates for the position were Kiam Jamrog-McQuaid, Maren Bhagat, Ken Iavecchia, Karl Prahl and Benjamin Drake.

Conniff was sworn in at the conclusion of the meeting.

Alexa Lewis can be reached at alewis@gazettenet.com.