Borer inaugurates 2nd term
By Michael P. Walsh
Special to the Voice
Mayor Dorinda Borer officially began her second two-year term as the city’s chief elected official after taking the oath of office during a ceremony in the West Haven High School auditorium Sunday.
Borer, who was joined onstage by her son, Drew Borer, 24, was administered the oath of office by Waterbury Superior Court Judge Susan E. Nugent in front of hundreds of supporters at the inauguration of elected city officials.
Connecticut Comptroller Sean Scanlon, who was Borer’s colleague at the state Capitol when they both served as state representatives, reflected on her decision to leave her high-ranking post as a deputy speaker of the House of Representatives to help the “city she loves.”
Scanlon touted West Haven’s progress in just two short years, saying the state has a renewed confidence in the city’s finances and culture.
In her address, Borer highlighted a number of accomplishments, such as working to release the city from state financial oversight, spearheading three credit rating upgrades, creating an economic corridor on Beach Street, leasing the former Savin Rock Conference Center, selling the former Stiles Elementary School, opening a new community center, kicking off the Masonic Temple project, and securing more than $10 million in grants to assist the city.
Other participants in the ceremony included Monique Bolt, a lifelong Westie and former associate vice president of customer service and enrollment events at the University of New Haven, who served as the master of ceremonies.
The hourlong ceremony opened with a spirited performance by the West Haven High School cheerleading team and a procession of elected officials and police and fire chiefs led by a bagpiper.
It followed with a presentation of the colors by the West Haven Police Honor Guard, an electrifying Jimi Hendrix-style performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by guitarist Damiano Christian of the Rock House School of Music, and the Pledge of Allegiance led by Colleen St. Clair Weatherspoon, a Navy veteran of the Grenada/Panama era.
The Rev. E. Carl Howard, the senior pastor of the First Congregational Church of West Haven, gave the invocation, and the Rev. Paul Bronson, the outreach pastor of Vertical Church of West Haven, gave the benediction.
The inauguration concluded with dignitaries and attendees donning sunglasses because the city’s future is bright.
Borer, a Democrat, ran unopposed in the Nov. 4 general election. She is West Haven’s 13th and second female mayor since the city’s incorporation in 1961.
Attorney Jack B. Gethings administered the oath of office to elected Democratic Probate Judge Timothy P. Gunning.
City Deputy Corporation Counsel Michael Todd Taylor swore in elected Democratic Treasurer Rosemary Russo and incumbent Democratic Tax Collector Eric Murillo. Incumbent Democratic City Clerk John W. Lewis was unable to attend the ceremony but was later sworn in.
Taylor also swore in incumbent Democrats Joseph W. Harvey III and Suzanne Mink and elected Republican Silvana Apicella to the Board of Assessment Appeals.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., administered the oath of office to members of the Board of Education, including incumbent Democrats Patrick O. Egolum and Kim Kenny, incumbent Republican Rosa M. Richardson, and elected Democrat Jeffrey Moreno.
City Corporation Counsel Paul J. Dorsi swore in the eight incumbents and five newcomers on the City Council.
Returning council members are Anne Heffernan, D-1; Sarah J. Ackbarali, D-3; Gary Donovan, D-4; Edward “Mackie” McMillian, D-5; Dawn Callahan, D-6; Katherine Tucker, D-7; Christopher E. Vargo Jr., D-8; and Meli Garthwait, R-at large.
New to the council are Nancy Tagliatela, D-2; David Beaton, D-9; Ronald M. Quagliani, D-10; Peter Rivera, D-at large; and Sean P. Ronan, D-at large.
The West Haven Charter mandates that all elected officials take the oath of office on the first Sunday of December.