There is a new person at Sebastian City Hall tasked with maintaining and cataloging the City Record. The change comes after City Clerk Sally Maio retired, effective last week. But the new clerk is no stranger to City Hall – it’s Jeanette Williams, who has served as Maio’s right hand for the past 15 years.
Councilwoman Andrea Coy nominated Williams to the Charter position during the same Council meeting at which Maio gave her farewell. Coy said Williams was “tutored very, very well” by Maio and that it would “behoove us” to offer the job to Williams.
Councilman Jim Hill concurred.
“I agree 100 percent,” he said, adding that the City Manager and City Attorney should immediately begin contract negotiations with Williams.
Despite the seeming support of the Council, one detail appeared missing.
“Did we ask her if she wants the job?” Hill asked, prompting laughter among the Council and the audience.
Coy said she had spoken to Williams privately.
“Do you want the job?” Coy asked from the dais.
“Yes,” Williams said, quietly and with a smile.
Williams stood beside Maio during the pomp and circumstance of her tutor’s retirement proclamation.
“(Jeanette) is one of the hardest workers in City Hall,” Maio said of Williams, throwing her support behind the Deputy City Clerk to fill her shoes.
Maio has been called many things over her three decades with the City of Sebastian – such nicknames have been “Jiminy Cricket” and “conscience.” Mayor Bob McPartlan added another, calling Maio a city “treasure.”
“She basically knows everything,” he said. “She knows all the stories.”
Fellow Council members agreed with the sentiment and Maio took the compliments in stride.
“I would have completely been OK with sneaking quietly and peacefully away,” Maio said, reading from a statement she prepared just in case she was asked to speak. Three times, Maio told the audience she is not a public speaker, adding “This is very, very hard for me.”
“I feel like I’ve grown up in City Hall,” Maio said, explaining that she didn’t expect to stick around for as long as she had but she was compelled – compelled to ensure the City’s historical record was preserved and the continuance of communication between the City and the public.
“Sharing knowledge is power,” she said, “withholding it is not.”
Maio said she lasted so long with the help and encouragement of many, including City Clerks at other municipalities, her family and her husband.
“I think I’ve fulfilled another early lesson I’ve carried with me since my teens,” Maio said. “Go placidly amid the noise and haste and remember what peace may be in silence as far as possible without surrender. Be on good terms with all persons.”
Maio received multiple standing ovations from the large audience, showing she had indeed left City Hall being on good terms with all persons.
