Three Ashtabula Council members ‘back in the saddle again’ following swearing-in ceremony

ASHTABULA – RoLesia Holman, Jodi Mills and Jane DiGiacomo all had something in common the evening of Friday, Nov. 28, in Ashtabula.
The three Ashtabula City Council members, who were returned to office in the Fall election, all took their Oaths of Office during a swearing-in ceremony in council chambers at 6 p.m.
Holman, the Ward 3 Councilor, was sworn in by Notary Public Kaffey Osborne, her cousin, as Porcha Lee, her niece, held the Bible and served as witness.
Mills, the Ward 4 Councilor, was sworn in by council President John Roskovics as her husband Larry Mills held the Bible and was witness along with her grandchildren, Connor and Claire Mills. Her daughter, Amanda Mills, was also in attendance for the ceremony.
City Manager James Timonere swore in DiGiacomo, the Ward 5 Councilor, as her husband, Chris DiGiacomo, held the Bible and served as witness.
“All of them are being welcomed back to council,” Roskovics said at the start of the ceremony.
Following the swearing-in of the council members, they all shared some remarks.
“I just want to say thank you to those who voted,” Holman said. “I look forward to serving. It is my hope that this next term will be a little smoother and we will be a bit a more thoughtful and structured in executing our duties to serve all the citizens in Ashtabula.”
DiGiacomo expressed enthusiasm about being back to serve on council.
“I’m excited to hit the ground running,” she said.
Mills said she wanted to say thank you to everybody. She was excited to serve again.
Like Holman and DiGiacomo, she congratulated her fellow council members on their victories.
“We’re all three back in the saddle again, ready to work hard for another four years, trying to do our best for the residents, for our community,” she said.
They were all applauded.
Roskovics thanked everyone for showing up for the ceremony.
“It’s a nice little ceremony to welcome everybody back,” Roskovics said, when asked for comment by the Gazette. “We have a lot of good things happening in the city and we hope to keep that going.”
He hoped the council could keep working together for the betterment of the city.
The Rev. Sean Adams, of the Hiawatha Church of God in Christ, provided the prayers.
Following the election, Holman had shared an emailed message with the Gazette, when asked for comment about her re-election.
The message was received after the printing of the Gazette’s election edition, so here it is in its entirety:
“I am pleased that the residents of Ward III re-elected me to serve for another term. I’d like to thank those who helped me with my campaign. There were folks who made phone calls, knocked on doors and we engaged with residents 1:1. I have unfinished business to attend to in order to make further improvements and I am glad for the opportunity to continue working on their behalf. Overall, given the issues on the ballot, I wish there would have been a larger turnout of voters, but we’ll have to keep encouraging them to get registered and more involved. A lot is at stake – including our democracy – and we need to protect it before it’s too late.”