Henderson Mayor Melissa Elliott made history Monday night when she was sworn in as the first woman and the first Black to hold the city’s highest office.
The Henderson City Council chambers and lobby area was standing-room only, filled with family, friends and dignitaries to witness the historic swearing-in ceremony.
With her left hand on a Bible – held by her mother – Elliott raised her right hand and repeated the oath of office administered by Judge Henry Banks.
Four newly elected City Council members also were sworn in Monday as part of the regular monthly meeting of the council.
Geraldine Champion (Ward 1), Sam Seifert (Ward 2), Michael Venable (Ward 3 at-large) and Tami Walker (Ward 4 at-large) were installed and took their seats alongside current members Garry Daeke, Ola Thorpe-Cooper, Lamont Noel and Sara Coffey.
Outgoing Council members Mike Rainey and Marion Brodie Williams shared brief remarks during the meeting; Jason Spriggs was not present.
Banks also administered the oath of office for Seifert, Venable and Walker; Judge Ben Hunter administered the office for Champion.
The first action taken by the reorganized Council was to elect a Mayor Pro Tem. Ward 3’s Daeke was elected unanimously to that role.
In his final remarks as mayor, Ellington said he and Elliott both began their terms on the Council in 2015, adding that they were seated beside one another in Council meetings. “We’ve always been there together when we left …City Hall,” he recalled. He thanked city staff, including former City Manager Frank Frazier who also was in attendance Monday. Ellington accepted a gavel as a parting gift from the Council.
Brodie Williams challenged the incoming Council members “to not just work for your particular ward but the entire city – everyone and everybody. Lean on your mayor and manager and seasoned Council members,” she said. And remember to “do your research.”
Rainey, who joined the Council in 2003, said he had met a lot of people and seen a lot of changes during his 20-year tenure. He recalled the late Mary Emma Evans, former City Council member, who was fond of saying “it’s OK to disagree, but you don’t have to be disagreeable.”
After months of campaigning for the Oct. 3 election among a field of five candidates, Elliott found herself in a runoff with political newcomer and local businessman Greg Etheridge in the November election – an election she easily won by 300 votes. About 20 percent of the city’s registered voters voted in the October election, and 29 percent came out to vote in the runoff.
Just after the runoff Elliott said, “I’m elated…overwhelmed with joy,” about the election outcome.
“I am a servant leader,” Elliott said, and she plans to serve the community at-large and all people.
“Everyone was so wonderful…so much encouragement,” she said. There were “so many people that wouldn’t allow me to quit. I’m thankful for this historic moment in time,” but she said she also looks to the future for the city.
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