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Severino
ELKINS -- Elkins City Council appointed a new Second Ward representative during its regular meeting Thursday evening.
Lisa Severino's appointment was approved unanimously by the nine sitting council members after they considered the issue briefly during an executive session.
"I've been involved in a lot of community service as far as sports is related, so I just saw this as an opportunity to expand that," Severino told The Inter-Mountain after the meeting. "I've been encouraged by some family members and neighbors to run for council in the past, and it was never a good time. I'm an empty nester now, so it seems like a good time to do that."
Asked what issues she would like to focus on as a council member, Severino said, "I just kind of want to get my feet wet first and learn what's going on in the various committees."
Severino is a paralegal at Busch, Zurbuch & Thompson, where she has worked for more than 30 years, and is co-president of Elkins High School Athletic Boosters. She is a graduate of Alderson-Broaddus College. She and her husband Jim live in Lower Oak Grove. Her two children are grown.
"My son is a reporter for The Charleston Gazette, Joe Severino, and my daughter Alyssa is a cosmetologist in Pittsburgh," she said.
Mayor Jerry Marco officially greeted Severino during Thursday's meeting.
"I'd like to welcome Lisa Severino as our new Second Ward councilor," Marco said at the conclusion of Thursday's meeting. "Welcome aboard."
The Second Ward seat became open after longtime Councilman Charlie Friddle announced his resignation in May.
The only other applicant for the position that the City of Elkins made public was former mayor Van Broughton, who served on city council for 12 years before leading the city as mayor from 2012 to 2021.