Outgoing Franklin mayor makes pointed remarks at swearing in ceremony for new city officials

Former Franklin mayor Desiree McLaughlin concluded her final city council meeting Monday night with pointed remarks before the inauguration of new mayor Glenn Morrill and three city councilors.

After the council dealt with some routine business, outgoing city councilors Leigh Webb and Bruce Marshall gave brief closing remarks.

When it was McLaughlin’s turn, her remarks were anything but routine. She began by thanking city councilors, city employees, her family and Franklin residents, and she briefly listed some of the accomplishments of her two-year term.

Near the end her speech, McLaughlin called herself an “unconventional mayor,” one influenced by her Catholic school education, and said she abides by the moral code of good versus evil. She quoted Bible verses and made vague references to people in the city.

“My every action is based upon the question: Am I serving our Lord Jesus Christ?” she said. “I’m not ashamed to say it, and I’m not afraid to say that there are people in this city I regard as nothing more than the devil incarnate and some of them are sitting elected right at this table with me. May their names be forgotten in rooms that matter.”

After her statement, some attendees began grumbling, and one woman stood up and made a comment about McLaughlin’s son. The woman walked out and others spoke up.

McLaughlin said in an interview she expected people to be upset but didn’t think they would be “uncouth” and disrupt the meeting. “I don’t take it back. They’re still riled up,” she said. “I have never brought religion into my politics, even though I’m permitted to.”

Franklin resident Sandy Vasko said many people in the audience, including herself, were shocked by the sharp turn in McLaughlin’s speech. As someone who was also received a Catholic education, she noted how different her views and experiences are from McLaughlin’s, given the outgoing mayor’s comments.

“I was a little surprised,” Vasko said. “When she started with quoting the scriptures and calling out people, both on the council and in the audience in a negative way, I think that’s what really sort of triggered people.”

Glenn Morrill was sworn in as mayor shortly after McLaughlin’s speech, along with councilors Ben Forge, Sam Jacobson and Justine Hoppe.

Glen Feener, outgoing Ward 2 councilor, was unseated but did not attend the meeting. 

Morrill said it was a great evening. “When I first sat down to the table and looked out at the audience, how exciting it was to see the turnout that came out for the meeting and the inauguration,” he said.

Some of Morrill’s priorities include building affordable housing, encouraging local business and industry growth and establishing recycling in the city.

McLaughlin lauded Morrill and the incoming council as great people, but said she is concerned about the direction the city is headed in, as many new council members have had little involvement in municpal government.

“There has been a dramatic loss of institutional knowledge about the city,” she said. “Most everyone who has been historically involved in the city is gone.”

Morrill acknowledged his anxieties in leading the city but said he believes the council will work well as a team and just needs to get started to “move Franklin forward in a positive direction.”

Vasko said it will take some time to see how the council will deliver on the projects and initiatives coming in the new year.

“You can’t expect for a person to step into a role and immediately know all the answers,” she said. “So the hope is that this whole new combination will bring some unity back, or maybe, if not unity, maybe begin to bridge some of the divide.”

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