Well-informed, polite, and a wonderful person with her own style.
That’s how City Councilwoman Patti Pacino’s colleagues described the Second Ward representative. Pacino announced Monday evening that she would be stepping down from her position due to health-related issues. After 13 years taking a seat in Council Chambers as one of nine elected city leaders, she will miss it and will be missed, her colleagues said.
“I’m already missing it,” she said after council’s meeting at City Hall.
Pacino explained that, in addition to her medical condition the last several months — a bilateral ear infection that resulted in a December brain surgery and difficulty with walking and hearing — “I’m very tired,” she said. Her family has been helping to transport her to and from places, and she made the decision that it’s too much to continue.
Good news includes her regained memory, vocabulary and ability to use a fork and a pen. Hearing aids should help to replace part of her hearing, and she’s working on being able to walk again.
She read a prepared statement at the beginning of the meeting that read, in part:
"In light of these changes, I have sadly decided to stop early on my council work. Tonight will be my last meeting as a City Council member. I’m sure I will still visit meetings to share my opinions, just behind a different microphone,” she said. “I wanted time tonight to offer my sincere thanks to all the city policemen, firemen, departments, the city manager and staff at City Hall, all the Batavia citizens who have shared questions and suggestions, and most of all to all the dedicated people who have sat in these nine council seats during the past 13 years sharing hours of reading, studying, discussing, and agreeing to work overlooking the management of the City of Batavia.
“This has been one of the most wonderful experiences of my life,” she said. “My great thank you to all.”
Pacino has jumped on board no matter the topic, whether it’s the deer on Ross Street, an old police station, or a picnic in the park. She hasn’t been afraid to speak her mind, but not in a flashy or ignorant way.
City Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. commended Pacino for being so well-informed. She reads everything, he said.
“And she knows what she's talking about when she makes comments. And so I have a lot of respect for her because of that,” he said to The Batavian. “She's well educated, and does her research. And that's one of the important things, I think, of being on council, to make sure you understand both sides of the situation. And she has been very, very good in that respect. I liked her comments, and she usually contributes some good information. So she's going to be sorely missed.”
Pacino was great to work with and knew how to interact professionally during meetings, Councilman Bob Bialkowski said.
“I can only wish her good luck. And I think she knows what she needs to do. She knows what’s best. She’ll be missed on council, that’s for sure,” Bialkowski said. “I mean, working with her, it's always been a pleasure, it's always been polite, polite exchanges. She helped me one year on the parades.”
Councilwoman Kathy Briggs agreed. “It has been an absolute pleasure working with Patti,” she said.
“I enjoyed discussing City issues with her and getting her opinions,” Briggs said. “I’m going to miss her, but she won't be forgotten. I will still contact her and talk about everything.”
Sixth Ward Councilwoman Tammy Schmidt has known Pacino for decades. From her large-framed glasses to a comical moment after a council meeting, Schmidt has fond memories of Pacino, a well-known community advocate.
“I have known Patti since high school. She worked there when I was in school. I also thought she was a wonderful person with her own style and her signature eyeglasses. I did not recognize her without them! I have only worked on council with her 15 months, but I believe her heart was in her work no matter what the job was,” Schmidt said. “My most recent memory is when she got locked behind the gate with John Canale after a meeting, and nobody knew how to set them free. I have a nice photo to look back on. Patti will be missed and I hope she will be replaced with a person who has a love for this city and a passion for the job and our citizens.”
Councilman Richard Richmond, chair of the City Republican Committee, said that the committee had already pegged David Twichell to run for the Second Ward seat when Pacino had indicated that she wasn’t going to run for re-election in November. So the plan is to temporarily fill her seat with Twichell until he runs for a term in November, Richmond said.
Twichell is president of the city’s Youth Board.
Top Photo of Patti Pacino during Monday's council meeting at City Hall, by Joanne Beck; her official city photo; and above, a file photo from 2010 when she was sworn in the day after she misunderstood the time of the official swearing in ceremony, by Howard Owens.
