How to address a Councilman (original) (raw)
How to Address a Member of a City or County -- Council or Board_Councilmen_ and councilwomen are members of a council such as a city or county council. The position can be either elected or appointed. Counselor, counsellor, councilor or councillor are spelling used variously in Great Britain, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and other parts of the Commonwealth, and sometimes in the United States, since they are gender neutral.Not all members of local councils in the United States are addressed as The Honorable, but many that are elected to their office are so addressed: Check for the local tradition.In the United States most members of councils and boards are most formally addresses as Mr./Ms. Name. Councilman and councilwoman are not most formally used as honorifics in the United States. However, the staff of a member of a council may use the terms as honorifics for clarity, as when answering the phone “Councilman (surname)’s office” rather than “Mr./Ms. (surname)’s office” or when referring to the member in the third person as "the Councilman will be returning in ten minutes." All that said, while Councilman (surname) may not be traditional, it is sometimes the preferred honorific of a particular member, so follow the preference of the bearer.Envelope, official: See note above regarding use of The Honorable. The Honorable (full name) (Title of position held), (Elected Body) (Address) for example The Honorable Richard Trotter Member, Montgomery County Board (Address) or The Honorable (full name) (Elected body) of (jurisdiction) (Address) for example The Honorable Harriet Winslow Board of Supervisors, Culpeper County (Address) Letter salutation: Dear Mr./Ms. (surname): or if the preference of the bearer Dear Councilman/Councilwoman (surname): FYI, here is what's come in to the Blog that relates to this office/rank. For recent questions sent in, check out Robert Hickey's Blog. For specific offices/ranks, check out Robert Hickey's On-Line Guide. How to Write the Name of a City Councilmanand His or Her Spouse on a Donor List? I am President of our Friends of the Library and are engraving some bricks for a new sidewalk path being installed. We are including our Council Members and their wives, but are unsure the proper way of titling them. We are given 3 rows of 16 characters or spaces each. Would you please provide us some guidance? Would we list them as: Council Member Drexel and Kate Douglas Council Member Drexel & Kate Douglas Council Member Pam and Adam Steel Council Member Pam & Adam Steel Or some other variation? We are trying to make this a surprise so have not approached any of them or City Hall. -- Jack Scott Dear Mr. Scott, Hummmm. The options you suggest are awkward because you are combining official and social forms of address ... including an official's elected office ... with .... the couple's names in an social way. Members of city councils are typically addressed on an envelope or in the letter by whatever honorific they are entitled to (Mr./Ms./Dr./etc.), and identified as a member of a council: Mr. Drexel Douglas, Member, Hudson County Council You would never see Senator Evan and Susan Bayh in Washington. Formally when someone holds an office they get their name as a unit ... so .... Senator Evan Bayh and Mrs. Bayh ... is correct ... and is how an invitation would be better addressed to them. If you are limited for space and must include spouses, include the names and leave off the Council Member. Bricks are permanent, membership on the city council is fleeting. -- Robert Hickey How to Address A City Council Meeting? As president of a non-profit organization, I'm going to be making a presentation before my local city council requesting funding for a community service project. The seven member council sits on a raised platform at the front of the council chamber. The mayor and clerk-treasurer attend the meetings and are seated at a table to the right of the council members at floor level. The council president is the presiding official. When I get up to address the council, what should be my salutation? Should it be to all members of the council? Or should it be just to the council president? And should it include reference to the mayor and clerk-treasurer whose roles are mainly to comment and advise. We are a small Hoosier town and I don't want to sound too highfalutin in my opening. Is Dear Members of City Council acceptable instead of Honorable Members of City Council? I would really like to show honor, respect and decorum in the way I conduct myself. Thanks for taking the time to read and answer this email. -- Bob In Ohio Dear BIO.: If your oral comments are to all of present ... let's start with how to address each person and then work on their order. For the president and members of the city council President (surname) Members of the the City Council The Honorable always precedes a full name ... never an office: So a person is honorable, not an office. I am not completely clear whether the mayor & clerk/treasurer are part of "the official team" at the board meeting. But if included the mayor would be: Mr. Mayor or Mayor (surname) Normally clerks and treasurers are NOT most formally addressed as "Clerk (surname)" or "Treasurer (surname)." So he or she would be: Mr./Ms. (surname) There is no need to mention his/her office: in this context everyone will know who he/she is. Now, about the order to mention them: I would want to know MORE to be certain who had the highest precedence at this event. But... based on the officials you mention... here is where I would start: 1. A mayor in his own city (Was elected by all voters) 2. A President of the council as presiding official at his own event (Represents all voters, and probably would succeed the mayor if they mayor died or stepped down ... like The Speaker of the House of Representatives succeeds the Vice President if both the VP and the President die or step down...) 3. The clerk/treasurer if he/she was elected in a general election? (Was elected by all voters) 4. The members of the council (Were elected by only their district's voters) That would result in the following: Mayor (surname), President (surname), Mr./Ms. (surname), and members of the city council. But it could be that the Mayor and Clerk/Treasurer are not "officially attending" but simply get excellent seats … in which case they would not be addressed. Then your opening would be: President (surname) and members of the city council. You should ask someone … perhaps the City Council's secretary -- before the meeting -- which is better. -- Robert Hickey How to Address a Committeeman? How would you address (letter and envelope) to a Union NJ Committeeman? ~ Kathleen P. McK. Dear Ms. McK.: Adapt the form I give in my book on page 200 for a member of a city or county council or board. In the salutation Mr./Ms. (Surname): would be the most formal .... but it would not be incorrect to use Dear Committeeman (Surname): -- Robert Hickey |
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