Longtime Plattsburgh City Councilor Elizabeth Gibbs has unexpectedly resigned her seat.
After seven years representing Ward 3, the oft-outspoken Elizabeth Gibbs on Monday announced her resignation from the council in a move that surprised even her closest allies.
“I was shocked, but I wasn’t because I know that her job is extremely, extremely important to her. I don’t blame her,” Baughn says. “I’m going to miss her. I’m happy for her, I really am. And there can be no one like her on there. She really did fight for this city. She really had the city’s best interests at hand.”
That was Ward 1 Democrat Julie Baughn, the current mayor pro-tem, who says Gibbs has been her mentor.
Gibbs, who has worked in education for more than 24 years, says she is resigning partway through her third term to give her more time to take on additional professional responsibilities.
“I’m passionate about career development, about curriculum development and I made the decision that I’m going to resign from the council so that I can pursue these opportunities. You know it’s a decision that’s better for me in the long term and I have to focus on what’s best in terms of my career. So I guess you can kind of look at it this way: I’ve essentially decided to retire from politics and I want to pursue what I’m passionate about,” Gibbs says.
She said will she remain a classroom teacher in the Peru Central School District, while also taking on test and curriculum-development work through the Educational Testing Service, which develops exams for the Advanced Placement College Board.
Gibbs, a Democrat, has been one of the most vocal members of the council, often questioning process and proposals, and clashing frequently with previous Democratic Mayor Chris Rosenquest.
“I was never afraid to question whoever is either in the council seat or a department head or a policy or a procedure. And I’ve steered the city away from some really disastrous choices and there are some other things that I couldn’t stop because we didn’t have enough of a coalition to stop it. You know for example the destruction of the Crete Center. But I certainly was vocal about why I thought that was a bad decision,” Gibbs recalls. “So I hope that’s what people will remember about me, that I worked very hard to make the community a better place, an inclusive place.”
First-term Mayor Wendell Hughes, a Democrat, said he respects Gibbs’ decision to leave.
“I am happy for her though in her personal endeavors, I mean really happy for her. She’s got some new challenges. She’s had seven turbulent years as a councilor and I think it’s taken a toll. If somebody told me that I’d be replacing any councilor, especially Councilor Gibbs, I would have argued all day,” muses Hughes. “And Elizabeth is, I mean make no secrets, her and I are friends and she’s part of the reason I ran.”
Hughes will appoint someone to fill the seat until January 1st.
“Per the charter you have 30 days to appoint and there will be an election in November to carry out the final two years of the term.”
Gibbs’ last Common Council meeting will be Wednesday. Her resignation is effective June 30th.
