Maumee City Council selects new president

1/2/2018

Another change is coming to Maumee City Council in the form of a new council president.

Councilman Tim Pauken took over the position after a 5-2 vote. He was nominated by Councilman David Kissinger and replaces Brent Buehrer, who had been president for the past five years.

Councilman Tracey Elmore nominated and voted for Mr. Buehrer, who voted for himself.

“I’ve always wanted to be president,” Mr. Pauken said. “My turn came up and I’m happy to do it.

“I do appreciate everything the previous president did. I express my gratitude to him.”

Mr. Pauken, a Republican, was elected to city council in 2005. He is currently on the SAIL board, previously serving as president for two years. He is a former board member of the Joint Economic Development Zone.

Mr. Pauken has also served as president, vice president, and secretary to OAPSE/AFSCME Local 24. He's a 28-year Maumee Schools employee and is the former president of Recycled Laser Products Inc.

As a councilman, Mr. Pauken has pushed for city employee performance reviews and created the human resources commissioner position. He was also invovled in returning a school resource officer to Gateway Middle School.

Mr. Buehrer, also Republican, said he is proud of his time as president.

“To be council president, the No. 1 job is to be the conduit from administration to the members of council, regardless of their party,” Mr. Buehrer said. “I did my darndest to do that. I think I did a good job of that.”

Mr. Buehrer said Mr. Pauken will have to work at being an effective president, but congratulated him and offered up a piece of advice.

“I've always said don't take anything personally,” Mr. Buehrer said. “If you do, you're serving your ego and not your community. I think that applies immensely to council president. That would be the best advice I could give to anyone who does the job.”

Councilman Scott Noonan was sworn in at the council’s final meeting of 2017. He was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Dan Hazard, who took over as Municipal Court Judge.

Contact Jay Skebba at jskebba@theblade.com, 419-376-9414, or on Twitter @JaySkebbaBlade.