Ward 5 Alderman Sean O'Donovan Steps Down

Sean O'Donovan, who served as alderman in Somerville's Ward 5 since 2000 and, before that, was the ward's School Committee representative between 1995 and 1999, resigned from the Somerville Board of Aldermen Thursday night.

Citing the time commitment it takes to be an alderman, O'Donavan said he was stepping down due to family obligations and because his law practice—in Ball Square—needs more of his attention.

"It's a huge sacrifice on your family … it takes a lot of time," he said about the commitment it takes to serve on the Board of Aldermen.

In stepping down, O'Donavan said, "I've truly treasured representing Ward 5," and he pointed to a number of local accomplishments, including building new schools, fighting to keep the Brown School open, overseeing the development of Maxwell's Green and supporting The Center for Arts at the Armory, which he said is "a wonderful thing not only for the ward but for the entire city."

Courtney O'Keefe nominated as replacement

O'Donovan nominated Courtney O'Keefe, a regular face at neighborhood meetings and founder of the website Ward5Online, as his replacement.

Because O'Donovan stepped down with less than a year before the next election, the Board of Aldermen will appoint his replacement. Had he stepped down with more than a year before the next election, the city would have held a special election to determine his replacement.

The Board of Alderman voted to send O'Keefe's nomination to the Committee on Confirmations of Appointments for consideration. The committee will likely meet sometime in the upcoming week.

O'Donovan cited O'Keefe's involvement in the community and said she provides an opportunity for the Board to appoint the first female representative from Ward 5 and the first "openly gay member of this Board."

In addition to running Ward5Online, O'Keefe, 32, works in the trust fund office of the IBEW Local 103, an electricians union, and she also serves on Somerville's Human Rights Commission. She was recently appointed to a zoning advisory committee.

Nomination process causes rift, long debate

Before sending her nomination to the Committee on Confirmations of Appointments, members of the Board of Aldermen traded strong words about how to handle O'Keefe's nomination.

In December, when former Ward 1 Alderman William Roche stepped down, his choice to replace him, then-Ward 1School Committee member Maureen Bastardi, was appointed and approved the same night.

This time around the aldermen decided to wait, which Ward 7 Alderman Robert Trane said "feels like we're in the middle of a baseball game and we just changed the rules."

At-Large Alderman Bruce Desmond said O'Keefe is "the most politically active person in Ward 5 that I know" and "if it were up to me I would appoint her tonight."

On the other side of the argument, At-Large Alderman John Connolly said, "I have no issues with Ms. O'Keefe … I think it merits just a little bit of deliberation from all of us."

Trane, pointing to the recent transfer of a seat from Roche to Bastardi in one fell swoop, said, "All of a sudden we're going to debate this?"

O'Donovan served Ward 5 for 19 years, Trane said, and "any other way to handle this"—other than to approve O'Keefe immediately—"would be a slap in the face."

Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz said that after Bastardi's appointment she introduced a measure seeking a review of the appointment process, and "we have not had the opportunity to discuss that item."

Ward 4 Alderman Tony Lafuente said, "I don't like appointments. I've worked very very hard over a period of 10 years to get elected."

He said "the voters of the city have a fundamental right" to select their representatives, and he, as an alderman, has a "right" to ask some questions before approving a replacement for O'Donovan.

"I have every intention of voting for Courtney" but "I think we need to slow down a little bit," he said, adding it was easier to appoint Bastardi because she was already an elected official in her ward.

Many aldermen pointed to a recent School Committee process to find a replacement for Bastardi after she moved to the Board of Aldermen. It took around three months, and during that time Ward 1 didn't have a representative on the School Committee, something many aldermen found unacceptable.

"We have a lot of big things coming up," said At-Large Alderman Dennis Sullivan, referring to the annual spring budget process. "We can't afford a long process like what transpired in the School Committee."

O'Keefe will seek election this fall

Regardless of how the aldermen felt about the process of handling O'Keefe's nomination, most indicated they would vote to appoint her.

O'Keefe said O'Donovan called her about stepping down and nominating her as his replacement on March 28—just two days after she was named to the zoning advisory committee. "I was very surprised," she said of O'Donovan's news.

If appointed, O'Keefe would need to run for election this fall to keep her seat.

Regardless of how the appointment process plays out, "I'm running," she said. "I just want to represent Ward 5."

That means O'Keefe will run against Mark Niedergang, currently Ward 5's representative on the School Committee. It will be interesting to see if O'Donovan's resignation draws more candidates into the race.