Tuesday night was a bit of a whirlwind for Burlington’s city council, which bid farewell to its mayor and two of its four regular members before reconvening across town to swear in a trio of newcomers to these same three positions.
This dizzying cross-town adventure began at Burlington’s city hall where Jim Butler, the city’s soon-to-retire mayor, presided over a lame duck session of the council’s old membership. During this hour-long confab, Butler said his goodbyes to councilman Ronnie Wall, who had made a failed bid for the mayor’s seat in last month’s election, and mayor pro tem Harold Owen, who ran unsuccessfully for reelection to his current seat on the council.
Owen and Wall then joined fellow councilmembers Bob Ward and Dejuana Bigelow in saluting Butler with a lengthy proclamation before presenting him with a ceremonial key to the city.
Meanwhile, former state senator Rick Gunn announced Butler’s induction into the Order of the Long Leaf Pine – a civilian honor that the governor bestows on citizens who’ve devoted their lives to public service. Butler accepted this tribute in the company of his wife Kim, his sons Nathan and Grayson, his daughter Megan Baxendell, and her husband Nick.
As a final sendoff, the council approved Butler’s appointment to the Burlington-Alamance Airport Authority before Ward and Bigelow hurried over to Cummings High School for the second half of Tuesday’s extravaganza.
Ward went on to call the council back to order within the school’s auditorium, which had been reserved for the installation of the council’s three newest members.
Ward then yielded the floor to district court judge Larry Brown who administered the oath of office to Burlington’s former mayor Ian Baltutis and the city’s retired police chief Jeff Smythe, who had placed first and second in last month’s race for two of the council’s regular seats.
Baltutis affirmed his oath alongside his girlfriend Nidhi Sachdeva while Smythe swore his oath on a Bible braced by his wife Kimberly. The couple’s adult daughters Hayley and Jacquelin were also on hand for the ceremony.
Brown then passed the baton to chief district court Katie Overby, who performed the honors on behalf of Beth Kennett, the first female mayor in Burlington’s 132-year history.
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An ordained minister, Kennett took her oath on her own personal Bible, which her husband Jay hefted along with a stack of children’s books about famous figures in women’s suffrage. The couple’s adult daughters Abi and Emma were also present for their mom’s swearing in.
With these formalities out of the way, Kennett presided over the selection of Ward as the city’s new mayor pro tem. Each member of the new city council then had a chance to share their thoughts with the group before Kennett delivered a prepared speech to the boisterous crowd that filled the high school’s auditorium.
“City of Burlington, thank you,” the new mayor declared. “You are the reason I am here as the first female mayor of Burlington…You are Burlington, and I am the advocate for your voice. I’m not here to make your choices. I’m here to work with you so that together we can make decisions to make Burlington the best that we can be…Now, Burlington, let’s get to work.”
