Ironton City Council added a familiar face Thursday night

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but not the one that many had expected.

With a 4-2 vote by council and applause from the 20 or so citizens present, council appointed local businessman Bill Nenni to fill the remaining two years left on new Mayor John Elam's council term. The seat will be up for election in November 2005.

Councilmen Richard Price, Bob Isaac, Brent Pyles and Jesse Roberts voted for Nenni in the special meeting. Councilman Chuck O'Leary and Council Chairman Jim Tordiff voted no because they had already voted for their top choice, Randy Lilly.

While Nenni's name may not be familiar to everyone, the 53-year Ironton resident has regularly attended council meetings for years. Still, the appointment came as a surprise to many residents who had heard widespread speculation that former Mayor Bob Cleary was going to be appointed.

Nenni owns of the Ironton-based general contracting firm Kellico Inc. He is also an investigator with the Lawrence County Coroner's Office and a flight instructor. The 54-year-old businessman said he was humbled by council's vote of confidence.

"I am honored to have the opportunity to give back to my community," he said. "I have lived here since I was a kid. I am honored to be able to give back what the community has given to me."

Politics runs in his family. His mother Dorothy served on council in the 70s. Though this is his first political office, he said he does feel prepared to step in and get to work immediately.

"I have been to meetings for a number of years. I am familiar with what goes on in the city," he said. "I have spent a lot of time delving into the budget and I think I am pretty well-versed in how things work."

Though still slightly overwhelmed, Nenni said he would support the new administration any way he can and is looking forward to helping Ironton move forward with economic development.

"I would like to see the (South Ironton Industrial Park) developed and the old Dayton-Malleable developed," he said. "Anything we can do develop the city and bring more jobs into the community, I would support."

Mayor John Elam said he thought Nenni would be an excellent addition to council.

"I look forward to working with Bill," Elam said. "I know he will have a lot of positive input in promoting the revitalization of Ironton."

All the councilmen, even those that voted for Lilly, agreed that Nenni brings a lot to the table.

"Anytime you have a local businessman on council it brings a different perspective," Pyles said.

But the appointment did not come easily.

Chairman Tordiff addressed several issues including the fact that he thought

council planned to nominate the former mayor. He advised against that decision because the citizens of Ironton had voted to go another direction in the November election.

"I am afraid if we choose that route, the message sent would cause apathy - that it really doesn't matter what they do at the polls, because we will do what we want," he said.

Tordiff also emphasized that a decision needed to be made immediately rather that allowing for an extended time of public input because council has meetings in December that will require action on critical issues, such as a temporary budget.

Council debated for 25 minutes on whether or not the candidates should be discussed behind closed doors. Chairman Tordiff and Councilmen O'Leary wanted to keep the discussion open to the public, but were outvoted. Tordiff declined to participate in the closed session.

Following a 10-minute discussion behind closed doors, council returned. Only Lilly and Nenni were nominated, rendering all the speculation and debate about Cleary irrelevant.