With “a heavy heart”, Councilwoman Suzanna Keith informed the community last week that she and her family will be relocating to Houston this summer. Her husband, Andrew, is being transferred.

 

With “a heavy heart”, Councilwoman Suzanna Keith informed the community last week that she and her family will be relocating to Houston this summer. Her husband, Andrew, is being transferred.

 

Reached while she and her family were away during the school break, Ms. Keith said, “I’m going to miss so many things about Rye. I’ve been blown away by the quality of life here and will hold it as an example in my heart.”

 

What she’s enjoyed about serving on the City Council is “working collaboratively, across party lines. Our Council has demonstrated true courage and commitment in a tough economy.”

 

She regrets the Council has had to “manage a number of unhappy citizens whose issues have taken time away from the important business of putting the City on a financially sustainable path for the future.”

 

Ms. Keith said she was honored to have been elected to the Council in 2009. “It was a natural extension of my volunteer work — with so many great women at the Midland PTO and the Twig, and the many men and women on the Environmental Advocacy Group and the Not-for-Profit Council” (both of which she helped found).

 

“I wish the same good fortune for my replacement and future Councils,” she said warmly.

 

When asked if she was considering a run in Texas, Keith said, “Not right away. My number one priority is helping my three children make the transition.”

 

As for her replacement, Mayor Doug French will appoint him or her sometime this summer. While a number of names have been bandied about, but none confirmed, Rafael Elias-Lineros is one of the names that come up most often. He was a candidate in last fall’s Council race, and lost to incumbent Catherine Parker by only a handful of votes.

 

— Robin Jovanovich