By Seth Daniel
With the promotion of Sergio Cornelio – the former assistant city clerk – to the city clerk position, a vacancy is left in the office that will need to be filled.
That process of filling the assistant city clerk position is likely to be more controversial and elicit more discussion around the city than the clerk’s position did.
The job has yet to be advertised, but candidates for the position have been lining up just in case Cornelio was chosen for clerk since earlier in the year when former Clerk Michael Matarazzo made it known that he planned to retire. With an opening coming from Cornelio’s promotion, there are now many of those potential candidates who have a real interest in the job.
City Council President Anthony DiPierro said the council would bring up the vacant assistant city clerk position at its Aug. 28 meeting. A vote would likely be taken to advertise the position opening, a vote which is expected to be a formality.
Once advertised, DiPierro said they would begin accepting resumes for a two-week period.
“Once all the applications are in, it will go to Legislative Affairs for review of the resumes,” he said. “It will basically go through the same process that the city clerk position went through this summer.”
There have been a number of possibilities already discussed in terms of applicants for the position – though no one has formally announced any intention to apply once it is advertised.
One of the leading candidates in the unofficial discussion, however, is former Mayor David Ragucci – who has seeming had a warm reception from the Council if he were to apply. Ragucci pulled nomination papers for an at-large council run this spring, but declined to mount the campaign when he did not turn in the signatures.
Another candidate often mentioned as a possibility is Rich Eliseo Jr.
It is also believed that the finalists for city clerk who were not picked, Angelo Febbo and Linda Greeley, as well as applicants who were not finalists, would take a shot at the position.
It is estimated that a decision on assistant city clerk would be made by the council some time in September.