Update:
The new Loganville City Hall will see its first swearing in ceremony next month after all. After a brief discussion at Thursday’s City Council meeting, the Council decided to take a chance that the new city hall will be able to handle the crowds that January’s Swearing-in Ceremony for the new mayor and council members after all.
Initial Story
This year would have seen the first swearing-in ceremony in the new Loganville City Council for the incoming mayor and city council, but it is likely not going to happen there – at least not this year. The election of Rey Martinez, reported to be the first Hispanic mayor ever elected in a Gwinnett County municipality, has this year’s election considered historic and one likely to bring out more than the usual crowd for the Jan. 11, 2018 swearing-in ceremony. Add to that the other three council members who will be sworn in on the same night, returning Councilman Danny Ford and newly elected Ann Coles and Lisa Newberry, and there is likely to be quite a crowd in attendance.
“I’m expecting more than 100 people. I’ve already sent out the invitations,” Martinez said. Newberry said she too was expecting quite a crowd and officials are concerned that the new, even though larger than the old, council chambers may not be quite big enough to safely handle the crowd.
“I think we should consider moving it to the Rock Gym,” City Manager Danny Roberts told the Loganville City Council members at Monday’s December work session. “I think if we’re going to do this, we need to debate the issue now and not wait until the last minute.”
Roberts said there would be a reception with some refreshments following the January swearing in of the newly elected mayor and council and the Rock Gym may be a better location to handle that too. City Council members were expected to take a look at the logistics and come up with a final decision on where the swearing-in ceremony will take place at Thursday’s City Council meeting.
Martinez defeated Donna Jones, wife of Loganville’s former mayor, councilman and city manager in November. It will not be his first swearing-in ceremony in Loganville having already served two and a half full terms on the Loganville City Council before stepping down earlier this year to run for mayor. He also was sworn in two years ago to serve as a commissioner on the advisory board for the Georgia Commission on Equal Opportunity and chaired the “Hispanics for Trump” campaign in Georgia during the 2016 presidential campaign of President Donald Trump. Martinez and his wife were attendees at the inauguration of the President in January this year.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.