MANSFIELD — David Falquette said Wednesday evening he appreciates the bipartisan work done by Mansfield City Council.
As the new council president, that’s something he hopes to see continue.
“I absolutely look forward to continuing as a group that can come to a consensus,” the 60-year-old Republican said. “Sometimes it’s good to have one or two members who think differently, but I hate to see an absolute party-line vote.
“I can’t recall one of those in my time on council and I hope that we as a group can remain open minded,” Falquette said.
Falquette, a Birchlawn Avenue resident, received 10 of 11 votes Wednesday from party members of the Mansfield Central Committee to earn the seat.
Retired Mansfield police Capt. David Messmore, a long-time member of the Mansfield City Planning Commission, was the only other candidate and he received one vote. The meeting and election were done via a Zoom online gathering.
Falquette replaces former council President Cliff Mears, recently selected by county Republicans as Richland County commissioner to fill the remaining two years of Marilyn John’s term. John began her new role as state representative earlier this month.
It’s the second time in about a year Falquette has advanced to replace Mears on City Council. Republicans picked him to replace Mears in an at-large seat in January 2020 after Mears won the council president race.
Falquette ran for an at-large council seat in 2019, but lost to veteran Democrat Phil Scott. It was a respectable showing against the former three-term council president as Falquette received 49 percent of the vote.
In his first run for public office, Falquette was elected to represent the 1st Ward on City Council in November 2017, earning 67 percent of the vote to best Democrat John Harsch. In the Republican Party primary that year, Falquette defeated former Richland County Commissioner Dan Hardwick, receiving 53 percent of the vote.
Falquette, who earned an associate’s degree in mechanical engineering and a bachelor’s in business administration, works as a program manager for TE Connectivity.
As council president, Falquette presides over the group’s caucus and legislative sessions, though he only votes in the event of a tie among the eight voting members.
“I expect to have some (voting) withdrawl,” he said with a laugh. “I believe it’s important to cast a vote when you have the opportunity to do that. A lot of the work done by City Council doesn’t require a tie breaker. As a group, we get along well and tend to see things mostly the same.
“I really think my year in the at-large seat gave me a full city view,” Falquette said. “I always try to look at the whole city (when making decisions). Of course, I am partial to the 1st Ward, but a lot of our issues are city-wide.”
In his previous roles on City Council, Falquette has often been a voice against rushed legislation and attempts by the city administration to seek council approval for a purchase order after the fact.
“I really think I made a bit of a difference (in that area),” he said. “We don’t see many ‘then-and-now’ certificates coming to council at the last minute. I will see what I can do as council president to enforce that.”
The same group of Mansfield Republicans will meet again on Jan. 28 to select Falquette’s replacement as an at-large council member. That new appointee will be up for election this year and will need to file petitions with 50 signatures with the Board of Elections by Feb. 3.
