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Quincy Mayor John Spring has tabbed John Veith of 2015 S. 8th to be the city's next 6th Ward alderman.
Veith, a Democrat, replaces Democrat Ted Meyer who resigned in late June. Veith still must be approved by the City Council, which will take up the issue at its meeting next Tuesday. The council is not meeting Monday night because of the Labor Day holiday.
Veith, 56, retired from the Quincy Fire Department in 2001 after serving nearly 26 years. He now operates his own lawn care business.
Spring introduced Veith to the media, some aldermen and several department heads and employees during a news conference at 9:00 this morning. Spring said while Veith's years of service to the city give him an understanding of how some aspects of city government work, he'll still have quite a bit to learn about city operations.
Veith said he wanted to be an alderman "for the concerns of the citizens of Quincy. They are concerned about economic development...street repair and sidewalks, stuff like that."
Spring took nearly the full 60 days given by charter to make his selection. The council vote on Veith will actually come 64 days following Meyer's resignation, which was effective June 30.
Spring said he interviewed a "handful" of people for the spot. He stressed Veith was "a Democrat...a strong Democrat. I'm not afraid to say that" during the news conference and added Adams County Democratic Party Chairman Randy Reis, who is also a supervisor with the city's central services department, was a part of Veith's selection process.
After making that comment, Spring added that he couldn't recall a City Council vote during his tenure that has fallen along party lines.