David Depretis Is New Baldwin Borough Council President

Council Reorganization

The  Council held a reorganizing session on Tuesday night to welcome back three councilmen and to internally elect new council leaders.

Re-elected to the Baldwin Council for four-year terms by were .

District Magistrate John N. Bova, whose jurisdiction includes Baldwin Borough, swore Depretis, Stelmasczyk and Ferris back into office on Tuesday. The three men join existing council members Larry Brown, Bob Collet, John Conley and Ed Moeller.

As part of the reorganizing process, the seven-person council then elected, for two years, a president, a vice president and a president pro tempore. (A president pro tempore would preside over council meetings if the council president and vice president were unavailable.)

Ferris nominated Depretis for the presidency, and Collet nominated Brown for the same position. Depretis won election, 4-3, with Brown, Collet and Moeller voting for Brown, and Depretis, Ferris, Conley and Stelmasczyk voting for Depretis.

Moeller nominated Conley for the vice presidency, and Ferris nominated Stelmasczyk for the same position. Stelmasczyk won election, 4-3, with Conley, Brown and Collet voting for Conley, and Stelmasczyk, Depretis, Ferris and Moeller voting for Stelmasczyk.

Stelmasczyk then nominated Ferris to be the president pro tempore, and he was elected unanimously.

New President Depretis has been on the Baldwin Council for approximately nine years. He has served as president pro tempore and has been on numerous borough committees, including Finance, Public Works, and Zoning and Planning.

He has owned his home on Meadowvue Drive in north Baldwin since 1993 and is a 1976 graduate of .

"As far as it (the vote for the council presidency) being close (4-3)," Depretis said, "it is what it is."

He was asked if competition for the presidency is a good thing.

"Sure. Absolutely. Everybody wants to do what's best for our community.

"That's what I plan on doing. I've done that for nine years, and I don't plan on changing."

Other Borough Positions

Following inner-council elections, the council then unanimously elected Stanley B. and Michael B. Lederman as borough solicitors; Lennon, Smith, Souleret Engineering, Inc., as borough engineers; John Barrett as borough manager; and Diana Behers as borough treasurer.

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