Sophie Gabrion resigned her seat on the Hallowell City Council Monday citing health reasons.
Gabrion, 30, said it was recommended that she “pull back on some stuff, and next to family and my full-time job, City Council takes the largest chunk of energy.”
Mayor Mark Walker said he would appoint Michael Frett to take Gabrion’s seat, and Walker doesn’t expect any opposition from the council.
“I’ll expect he’ll get confirmed before Monday’s meeting and hit the ground running,” Walker said. Walker was in a meeting with Councilor George LaPointe earlier in the day, and Walker said LaPointe supported the appointment.
If approved by the full council, Frett will begin serving immediately and would complete Gabrion’s term, which expires in January 2018.
Gabrion, who is the director of public education for the Maine branch of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, ran unopposed in November for the Ward 2 seat previously held by Lynn Irish.
“The council is great, and I really love the work they are doing,” Gabrion said by phone Tuesday morning. “It’s just bad timing, but I have a strong belief in my health care and taking the time to slow down as a way to take care of one’s health.”
Before being sworn-in during Hallowell’s inauguration in January, Gabrion said learning about and fully understanding issues facing the city, including the Water Street reconstruction, Stevens School redevelopment and downtown parking, would be among the challenges.
“There’s so much going on in Hallowell, and I’d want my councilor to be fully present,” she said. “If you’re going to do City Council the way I would require, then it takes a lot more time.”
Hallowell’s new city charter, which is expected to go to a vote in November, says the council may schedule a special election to fill the vacancy. That provision is not found in the current charter and cannot be used to fill Gabrion’s seat.
Frett serves as the chairman of the ordinance rewrite committee and is a member of the Hallowell Board of Appeals. Gabrion said she would continue to serve as chairwoman of the communications committee.
In 2013, Jed Wartman resigned from his Ward 1 seat less than a year into his term after taking a job at Colby College that came with free housing. Former Hallowell Mayor Robert Stubbs was named to fill Wartman’s seat for the remainder of the term.
Jason Pafundi — 621-5663
Twitter: @jasonpafundiKJ
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