First District representative to marry, move to Janesville
By Michael S. Hoey
Correspondent
Alderman Mary O’Connor confirmed last week she is getting married May 31 and will resign her Common Council seat and move to Janesville in the coming months.
O’Connor was elected to serve the First District in 2008 and is serving her third term. She has served on the Finance, Public Works, and Park and Recreation committees, the Library Board and the Civil War Monument Restoration Committee.
O’Connor said she is unsure when she will resign her seat. She said she still owns a home she shares with her mother in the city and intends to maintain it even after moving to Janesville. Her mother will continue to live there.
O’Connor said she intends to move back to Delavan at some point. Her fiancé has a child in school in Janesville and has said that he would be willing to move to Delavan after graduation.
“Delavan is my home and where I want to be,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor also said she might run for office again when she returns to the city.
O’Connor said she is very proud of the city’s budgeting over the past couple of years.
“We had a deficit,” she said. “Bruce (DeWitt), the Finance Committee and the council worked hard to reduce that and not raise taxes.”
O’Connor was also very happy Lake Lawn was reopened.
“That took quite a few meetings with the new owner,” O’Connor said.
“It has done us a world of good,” she said. “It is such a big part of Delavan’s history.”
O’Connor said she is also proud of the efforts of the Public Works Committee to reconstruct many city streets while staying under budget. She said she is also a big proponent of the city’s sidewalk policy.
O’Connor said she will continue to serve the city to the best of her ability until she resigns and looks forward to beginning the 2015 budget process as part of the Finance Committee chaired by Alderman DeWitt.
“Bruce knows his stuff and is doing a good job,” she said. “I will learn a lot from him.”
City Clerk Sue Kitzman said replacing an alderman until the next election is a Common Council action. O’Connor’s seat is up for re-election in April 2015.
Mayor Mel Nieuwenuis said replacing an alderman used to be a mayoral appointment with council approval but that was changed. He said a couple of people heard O’Connor would be resigning and have shown an interest in replacing her, but he did not name them and said he would wait for the resignation to be final before moving forward. Nieuwenhuis said the position is open to anyone interested and the council will decide who to appoint.
