Elected Officials Sworn-in Thursday

Members of the Braintree Town Council and School Committee were sworn into office Thursday by Mayor Joseph Sullivan, a change in schedule prompted by the snow storm expected to batter the region for the better part of two days.

The councilors and committee members were originally scheduled to be sworn-in during a ceremony at Town Hall Thursday evening, but that was postponed to Tuesday, Jan. 7 because of the storm.

Elected officials instead arrived at Town Hall starting Thursday morning to be sworn-in individually by the mayor because the Town Charter requires them to take their oath on the first business day of January following the election, Sullivan said.

Newly-elected School Committee member Cyril Chafe was the first to arrive for the individual ceremonies in the upstairs Johnson Chambers at 9:30 a.m. Thursday.

District 1 Councilor Charles Kokoros was sworn-in next, Sullivan said, followed by his brother George Kokoros, joining the School Committee for a four-year term.

Also sworn-in Thursday were councilors Tom Bowes, John Mullaney, Sean Powers, Michael Owens, Stephen O'Brien and Shannon Hume, along with two-year School Committee member Kate Naughton.

Councilors Paul "Dan" Clifford and Charles Ryan, and School Committee member David Ringius were scheduled to arrive but had not yet by just before 1 p.m., Sullivan said.

The re-organization of the Town Council, in which the president and vice president are elected by council members, and an unofficial swearing-in ceremony with remarks by the mayor and others will still be held at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall this coming Tuesday.