For the first time in decades, Jamestown’s Republicans have carte blanche to do what they want in Jamestown.

It’s a real statement of either unhappiness or apathy given the voter registration edge Jamestown Democrats still hold over the city’s Republican Party. According to February enrollment totals on the county Board of Elections website, 35.75% of Jamestown’s registered voters are Democrats compared to Republican enrollment of 27.2%. The Republican enrollment rises to 29.4% if you include Conservative Party registration. Democrats outnumber Republicans in all of the city’s six wards as well, yet eight of nine council seats will be held by Republicans in January.

The question now is what Republicans will do with control over all the levers of city government.

Mayor-elect Kim Ecklund has a tall order ahead of her in the next month and a half. She has to assemble a leadership team she trusts so she can hit the ground running. Who she will ask to serve as development director, police chief and public safety director, city clerk and city comptroller are important decisions, because one thing Ecklund and her fellow Republicans should have learned from the past four years is a mayor is only as good as the team they are able to put together. City residents will be watching intently to see not only who Ecklund chooses, but the directions she gives those department heads as priorities to act upon in their day-to-day jobs.

As we noted above, voters also made a clear choice in their votes for council members. For the past four years, we have noted some council members asking tough questions and credited the council with doing their due diligence. Ecklund shouldn’t expect a rubber stamp from the council, nor should the council too easily acquiesce to things they’re not comfortable with just because it is proposed by a Republican mayor instead of a Democrat.

The council was relatively quiet during Mayor Sam Teresi’s 20-year term. That’s due in part to Teresi doing a good job of including council members – Republicans and Democrats – as he was making decisions and the financial conservatism Teresi displayed. That trust seemed to evaporate over the past few years, as council members often were left out of the loop until agendas arrived in their email inbox each week.

There should be no lack of trust between Ecklund and council members come January. Will it lead to better government? We shall see.