On Monday night, City Council expressed its thanks to City Councilwomen Elbra Wedgeworth and Rosemary Rodriguez. It was Elbra’s final meeting as Council representative; Rosemary resigned effective March 1. This was one of the funnier meetings of the Council during my tenure; it pretty much turned into a roast of our two outgoing colleagues, along with a show of sincere gratitude and appreciation.
I’ve known both these women a long time. Rosemary and I first met 20+ years ago in front of the first home I ever owned, in the Villa Park neighborhood. I was out in front of the house watering the lawn, and she rode by on her bicycle and we got to talking; ever since, our paths have continued to cross. We collaborated in District 9 when I worked as an aide to Councilwoman Deborah Ortega, while Rosemary was a neighborhood representative; we later worked together in Mayor Webb’s administration. And as fate would have it we ended up serving together as colleagues on the Council. Rosemary is off to Washington, D.C., to serve on the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
Best of luck to you, Rosemary; I just know our paths will cross again one of these days.
I also have known Elbra forever, or so it seems. We got to know each other when I worked for Councilwoman Ortega and Elbra was a legislative analyst and a staffer to various Council committees. She, too, was a colleague in the Webb administration. Elbra was Council president during my first two years in office, and she was a fantastic mentor. She helped us learn how to unify as a body and to maintain a certain degree of decorum. Elbra allowed us to disagree but not to disrespect; we had to get along with each other well enough to get our work done.
It was one of the many lessons Elbra has taught me over the years. She’s beginning a new job with Denver Health as government and community relations officer. Please stay close to the phone, Elbra; I might still have a question or two for you once in a while.
