Mecca Resigns Council for Health Reasons, Mayor Appoints Hurd
(Clarification: Our headline says “appointment” but in fact the Mayor put forth Hurd and the Council then voted its full support.)
Rye Mayor Josh Cohn appointed former city councilwoman and deputy mayor Emily Hurd to serve the remainder of Richard Mecca’s term, after Mecca submitted his resignation due the health reasons.
“Please accept my letter of resignation to the Rye City Council due to health reasons,” Councilman Mecca said in the letter delivered to the Mayor on Wednesday. “I can no longer fulfill my obligation in a manner that the citizens of Rye expect and deserve. It has been both an honor and privilege to have served with you, my fellow Council members and Rye City Staff. I am extremely proud of our accomplishments and have full faith that the next 4 years will bring the same degree of ethical professionalism shown in the past.”
Cohn did not waste any time to fill the seat, and announced his choice at the city council meeting Wednesday evening. “We’ve been doing a little thinking in anticipation, with Rich actually, and I would like to propose that former council woman and former deputy mayor Emily Hurd be appointed by this council to serve on the council until the next general election,” said Cohn.
The council quickly voted its full support, and Hurd then joined the Zoom and was sworn in virtually. “It is with tremendous sadness that I accept the appointment,” Hurd told MyRye.com on Thursday. “Richard Mecca’s resignation is an incredible loss to the Council and to the community. I visited with him today and tried on his shoes. They were way too big. Richard’s no-nonsense, non-partisan approach is exactly what Rye and the US needs; Julie Souza and I coined it: Rich’s magic.”
Hurd and her husband have lived in Rye for over ten years and have three sons at Milton School. In her day job, Hurd is a managing director at ELR Legal Search, a firm founded and run by Rye resident Corin Lindsley. She serves on the Rye Town Park Commission.
To the editor:
Not to be “that guy” like they say on Twitter but wanted to point out that according to the City Charter, the mayor of Rye does *not* appoint replacement members of the City Council. News outlets and residents have been saying this but the language of the law is clear. Article 4, C4-5 says: “If a vacancy shall occur in the office of Mayor or Councilman, the Council shall, by a vote of a majority of the members of the Council remaining in office, appoint a person to fill such vacancy.” In other circumstances, such as the selection of a member of a commission, the mayor does appoint, with the approval of the council. The replacement of an elected official, a person selected by the citizens of Rye, is not a power given to the mayor in the same manner.