Ellsworth voters will elect at least one new city councilor this fall, as incumbent Michelle Beal has disclosed she does not plan to run again.
Two other incumbent councilors, Tammy Mote and Jon Stein also have their current terms ending in November, but have not indicated whether they plan to run for reelection. The deadline for filing papers to run for city elected positions is at 12:30 p.m. on Sept. 8.
On Monday, Beal officially stepped down as council chair after serving in that role for two years, saying that another councilor should get started right away in serving as head of the board. Beal did not resign from her council seat, however, and is expected to continue serving until the Nov. 4 elections.
Without going into specifics, Beal said the next council will be tasked with having to tackle several issues with long-term consequences for the city, and that it will have to get moving right away with a new chair firmly in place.
The council voted unanimously to have Councilor Patrick Lyons serve as the next chair of the seven-member board. He is expected to preside as chair at the council’s next meeting in September.
“Being on the council has been an honor,” said Beal, who previously served as Ellsworth’s city manager from 2007 until 2015. She has served on the council since 2022.
“It’s been very different sitting at the [council] table on this end of the table than it is on that end of the table,” she added, pointing to where City Manager Charlie Pearce was sitting. “I’m very excited about watching what happens” after the Nov. 4 election.
Other Ellsworth elected positions with terms ending in November include two on the board of directors for the city’s school department and one seat on the city library’s board of trustees.
City officials are working on a proposal to expand the Ellsworth Public Library’s board of trustees from five seats to seven seats, which would help with the library’s fundraising efforts to pay for a planned expansion. Voters would have to approve an increase in the size of the library board via a referendum to amend the city charter.
If the proposal is approved by Ellsworth voters on Nov. 4, the city would hold a separate vote at a later date to elect two new members to the expanded library board.