Bridget Dean Appointed To Berkley City Council

Bridget Dean will be sworn in as a new member of Berkley City Council Monday night. City Council voted March 11 to appoint Dean to a vacant seat, according to officials. Dean, who previously served on the council, will step down from the Downtown Development Authority to take the position. Her term will conclude in November 2019.

“I am truly honored and grateful to have been chosen to serve the residents of Berkley and to be a steward of our resources,” Bridget said in a statement. “I’m really excited to get started.”

An ad hoc committee comprised of Mayor Pro Tem Steve Baker and council members Eileen Steadman and Ross Gavin began the selection process by reviewing applications and evaluating them on a set of criteria including diversity and background, professional experience, and community and municipal involvement. After receiving the committee’s recommendations, Berkley City Council selected Dean from a field of nine applicants.

"These decisions are often the most difficult,” Mayor Dan Terbrack said in a statement. “We have to choose one candidate from a pool of highly-qualified, energized, and passionate residents who simply want to serve the city. Bridget Dean is a member of the Downtown Development Authority, the Berkley Area Chamber of Commerce, and a business owner in the city. These qualities made her a uniquely qualified candidate.”

Dean will resign as vice chair of the DDA before she assumes her new office at the Berkley City Council meeting March 19. She says her goals include supporting three funding proposals aimed at improving infrastructure slated for November’s ballot. The funds will help improve city infrastructure, build a new community center, and renovate city hall, Dean says.

“These are issues that not only impact people living in Berkley, but also visitors to our city and potential new residents,” Dean said. “The effects are far-reaching.”

Because Berkley City Council has had to fill two vacant seats since November, the body also amended its rules at the March 11 meeting, creating a formal process for filling vacancies in future.

Photo via City of Berkley.