Shelby City Council appointed Derrin Roberts as the newest member of council on Monday evening, filling the vacancy for the second ward councilmember seat.
Roberts was sworn in at the conclusion of Monday evening’s council meeting and will serve until the end of his term on Jan. 4, 2016. The vacancy was created following the resignation of Harold Shasky on Feb. 9.
Roberts had initially run against Harold Shasky for the second ward seat in 2009, and had plans to run again in 2011 before withdrawing for personal reasons. A lifelong Shelby resident of 44 years, Robert said he looks forward to using his people skills for the benefit of council.
“I hope to do my part in making Shelby a better place to live, work and raise a family,” he said.
Both Roberts and candidate Keith Evans were interviewed in a public session on Monday, with each of the four present members of council asking two questions. Roberts and Evans were asked to describe their governing philosophies, provide examples of collaboration and leadership, and list both positive and challenging aspects of the city of Shelby. After interviewing both candidates council went into executive session on Monday before deciding to appoint Roberts.
“I’ve been through three floods here, a pretty good tornado and a blizzard, and that was the worst of times,” said Roberts. “But out of those bad times, the people are the best part of town. They always come together and they do the right thing by their neighbors.”
As part of his duties with council, Roberts will also sit on the Public Work and General Operations Committee as well as the Safety Committee. He cited his experience as a grounds maintenance employee for Shelby City Schools as valuable insight to both committees.
Roberts expressed his excitement to dive into council’s agenda and sink his teeth into the city’s more challenging problems, including balancing the General Fund.
“Any time you talk about money and raising taxes it’s real unpopular, and you have to be able to help people accept the fact that these are the situations, but we can get through them together and things will be better down the road,” he said.
“I’ve been through three floods here, a pretty good tornado and a blizzard, and that was the worst of times,” said Roberts. “But out of those bad times, the people are the best part of town. They always come together and they do the right thing by their neighbors.”
