New mayor, new council and new tone in Watertown? Officials are optimistic

Nov. 8—WATERTOWN — A day after a historic election, members of the new City Council are signaling that they are ready to put the past in the past.

Mayor-elect Sarah V. Compo Pierce and two council candidates, Robert O. Kimball and Benjamin P. Shoen, won a landslide election on Tuesday. Compo Pierce became the first woman to be elected mayor in the city's history.

They're taking office after two years of constant bickering, infighting and controversy on council.

"It's my goal is to see everyone working together toward what we need to do for the city of Watertown," Compo Pierce said Wednesday.

Council was paralyzed by a feud between Mayor Jeffrey M. Smith and Councilman Cliff G. Olney that bubbled up at city hall during nearly every meeting.

But Olney says the days of his outbursts and squabbling will be over with the departure of Smith from office on Dec. 31.

"I'm going to be more tactful," Olney said. "I'm going to be a better salesman."

Olney sold advertising when he owned the Americoups direct mail marketing business.

"I'm going to be more persuasive for the ideas I want to get across," he said. "I'm a very good salesman."

Olney also insisted that he can work with the mayor-elect. They joined forces last year on opening a temporary shelter for the homeless, approving a Stewart's Shop on Washington Street and a beautification project for downtown.

With Smith soon out of the picture, Olney believes that he and Compo Pierce can again work on issues that affect the city, he said.

"I'm hoping that she's the mayor that she can potentially become," Olney said.

In what was a bitter campaign, supporters of Compo Pierce and Councilwoman Lisa A. Ruggiero hurled a barrage of memes at the two candidates.

Near the end of the campaign, Olney engineered daily attacks from his Facebook page at Compo Pierce, she said.

But that's history, Compo Pierce said. She's encouraged by Olney's conciliatory comments about moving forward.

"Let's leave all the memes behind us for the betterment of the city," Compo Pierce said.

Voters made it clear on Tuesday that they want the city to go in a different direction, Shoen said. They want council to get things done. They don't want the arguing and they want shorter meetings, he said. Council meetings, particularly over the last year, have stretched to three hours at times.

"We have to wait to see what happens," Shoen said. "Let's give it time. Let's see if we can work together."

Kimball could end up becoming the swing vote on issues, Ruggiero said. He could side with her and Olney on some issues and with the mayor-elect and Shoen on others.

If that happens, he could wield his power to get things done.

But Kimball doesn't see himself taking on that role. He hopes the five of them can come together to work on the most important issues that the city faces.

As for how Olney behaves, it's only up to each council member to decide whether they want to be productive, efficient and logical, he said. Meanwhile, Ruggiero isn't convinced that Olney will change after the new council takes office on Jan. 1.

"Cliff is Cliff," she said, adding that she predicts Shoen takes the place of the mayor and ends up arguing with Olney on issues.

But Compo Pierce said she was sorry to hear that Ruggiero isn't as optimistic about council forging ahead with forming positive relationships.

Before the first of the year, Compo Pierce would like to meet each of the four council members and talk about their thoughts about things.

They need to start working right out of the gate, she said.