• O.J. Simpson took his televised white Ford Bronco ride into the annals of infamy.
• And Middletown City Council was known as City Commission.
That January, Schiavone came in as one of four new council members who were elected in 1993 under the city’s then-new ward system, defeating Howard Mack for the 4th Ward seat by winning six of seven precincts. With his well-known family name, Schiavone had an advantage over most other candidates, and was never seriously challenged again for his seat.
Now, perhaps fittingly, he is leaving office shortly after voters decided to scrap the ward system. Schiavone chose not to run for re-election this year and is surrendering his 4th Ward seat — which he held for 16 years, four full terms — to Dan Picard. Picard will represent the ward for the last four years of the ward system.
Schiavone was honored by his colleagues at the Dec. 15 council meeting, as were other outgoing council members, Leslie Ford and Anthony Marconi. However, no one in recent history has ever held a Middletown council seat for as long as Schiavone, and thus few have had the influence over local civic life that he has.
As was reviewed at Tuesday’s meeting, Schiavone was a leader on council during the negotiations that led to a new hospital in the city and (hopefully) a renaissance on Middletown’s east side, the costly demolition of the failed City Centre Mall, a bitter conflict in the health department, and recurring budget problems in later years.
During some years, Schiavone served capably as chairman (later mayor) and was once considered by this newspaper — because of his unmatched years of experience — to be the front-runner to become the city’s first modern directly elected mayor in 2007. However, he surprised many by choosing not to seek the mayor’s job and then began winding down his council career.
Among his disappointments — still-neglected streets, job problems in the county’s probation department, the closing of public pools — the worst likely were the years trying to preside over strained councils that included maverick Laura Williams, whose unseemly outbursts can still be found on YouTube. Becoming Williams’ most frequent target of scorn — especially as he was abruptly ousted as mayor in mid-2006 — unfavorably linked the two of them in the public’s mind and the stress probably contributed to his decision to retire from public office sooner than he might have.
However, we think Schiavone made his best contributions to council when he wasn’t holding the gavel and wasn’t worried about managing meetings (and Williams) and bestowing proclamations. That’s when he was freer to offer his wisdom and out-of-the-box thinking after an issue or situation stymied other council members. In the last two years, he hasn’t been as vocal as he was in past years, but his words were well-chosen and carried weight with other members.
His experience and knowledge will be missed on City Council. We thank him for his long service on council and his countless contributions toward preserving the quality of life in Middletown.