Gahan to step aside as council president as Coffey buys a new bow tie.

On Monday evening, New Albany's city council will convene for its first meeting of 2009, and ...

Gahan won’t return as New Albany City Council president, by Daniel Suddeath (News and Tribune).

After serving three years as New Albany City Council president, Jeff Gahan plans to step aside Monday to make way for new blood.

“You have to be a little more reserved in the meetings with your own personal opinions and agendas, so the meetings will be run in a way that the rest of the council members are given ample opportunity to express their concerns,” Gahan said.

The Green Mouse (and NAC's intrepid reporter, Gordy Gant) both say that there's only one council member interested in Gahan's seat: Dan "Wizard of Westside" Coffey, who ended 2008 with a sustained and uncharacteristic charm offensive.

Will he heed Gahan's alleged lead and be "reserved"?

How long will the self-restraint (if any) last when the first grandstanding opportunity approaches the plate, fat and hittable?

Is there a Bazooka Joe university diploma for tact somewhere, kept hidden away from public view?

Meanwhile, reporter Suddeath can't resist a gentle dig at the departing president's expense, but Gahan deftly sidesteps the prompt.

... The smoking ban — which was passed by the council and later vetoed by Mayor Doug England — was a huge topic in 2008, but Gahan said the council’s legacy should be remembered for other decisions that the public may have overlooked.

Indeed. One huge one that leaps to mind was Gahan's savage opposition to the fairest redistricting plan seen in this city in decades ... perhaps ever.

Funny, isn't it, that Gahan's aversion to the Constitution trumped his mandated reticence as president. Since Coffey, too, opposed redistricting (primarily because of "them people"), I suppose we'll not be seeing the council dot its duty this year, either.

Sad, but status quo in the open air museum.