Bayville write-in trustee candidate sworn in

A Bayville write-in candidate who last month was elected to a village trustee position with more votes than any incumbent trustee was sworn in Monday by Mayor Doug Watson.

Harry E. Pinkerton III uttered a soft “wow” when he took his seat to Watson’s far left on the bench.

Pinkerton, 62, president of a medical pump manufacturing company, had been a vocal critic of Watson’s administration, but the atmosphere Monday seemed considerably lighter with him on the board.

Pinkerton dutifully went into an hourlong executive session that excluded the public at the start of the evening.

He then rattled off the names of appointees to village committees alongside other officials in the organizational meeting.

He voted yes on all resolutions presented at the regular meeting with the exception of revised hourly fees for H2M engineering firm.

The resolution to accept lower “multiplier” labor costs passed 4-2, with trustee Alfred Staab also voting down the changes and trustee Paul Rupp absent.

Pinkerton spoke out only during the meeting’s public comment portion when he complained about overflowing garbage bins in front of some village businesses.

He prefaced his statement with, “I don’t know if I’m allowed to speak,” and drew chuckles from the audience.

Margaret Marchand, who lost as a write-in candidate, during the meeting said fresh appointees should be made to village committees, but alluded to hopes for Pinkerton’s term.

“There’s a whole host of people who are out there but it just seems that the same circle gets picked over and over again,” she said. “But if you let in new ideas, sometimes it really breeds creativity and great things can happen.”

Pinkerton’s election removed former trustee and Deputy Mayor Kate Naughton from office. Watson on Monday appointed trustee Timothy Fay as the new deputy mayor.