In a packed meeting room Tuesday night, Bridgeville’s first African-American and first female mayor was sworn into office.
After taking the oath of office, Mayor Betty Copeland said she would use her position to advocate for borough government being more of service to local nonprofit organizations. She specifically mentioned Goodwill Manor, which offers subsidized housing for senior citizens.
“You’ll be hearing more about this later,” she said. “I look forward to working with everybody.”
Attending the meeting were previous Bridgeville mayors Pat DeBlasio and Don Dolde, along with Copeland’s friends and family, some of whom traveled from as far away as California and North Carolina to attend her swearing in.
Copeland thanked former councilwoman Deb Colosimo for making her election victory possible.
“[Deb] started this journey for me and she has done everything possible to make sure that this happened,” Copeland said. “She did all of the mailing and things herself. I never got to put a stamp on anything. She took care of it all.”
The other Bridgeville officials sworn into office on Tuesday were incumbent councilmen Bruce Ghelarducci, Joe Verduci, and William Henderson; newly elected councilwoman Virginia Bott Schneider; former and returning councilman Nino Petrocelli Sr.; and tax collector Anne Marie Parisi Kean.