An Ansonia resident with a long history of community service was elected as president of the Board of Aldermen Tuesday.
Eugene Sharkey, a Democrat, replaces former Board of Aldermen President Stephen Blume.
Blume was not re-elected to the seventh ward in the November election.
Sharkey has been on the Board of Aldermen for eight years. This is his first term as president.
“I look forward to moving the city forward,” Sharkey said Tuesday. “These are difficult times. We have a lot of issues before us. Hopefully we can come together and work on them.”
Sharkey was a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission for 22 years before being elected as an Alderman. He served as that commission’s chairman during that time.
Sharkey is also a volunteer firefighter in Ansonia, serving with the Webster Hose Co. for the past 49 years. Sharkey is on the Board of Fire Commissioners.
He will preside over a changed Board of Aldermen. Last term, the board consisted of one Republican and 13 Democrats.
In November, four Republicans were elected to the board.
Sharkey’s nomination to lead the board was unanimously approved.
He was nominated by fellow sixth-ward Alderman Scott Nihill.
Republican Seventh Ward Alderman John Marini seconded the nomination.
“Alderman Sharkey and I have had our share of disagreements and debates in this chamber. And I suspect we will have many more in the future,” Marini said. “Yet at the end of the day, I know that Eugene Sharkey has the best interest of Ansonia at heart.”