At a regular Board of Finance meeting December 8, Vice Chair Keith Alexander (D) was elected mid-term to head that panel, with Chair Sandy Roussas (R) stepping back into the vice chairman role.

That transition of leadership is the second time in recent years that Alexander has headed up one of the community’s most powerful boards, having also served as the Board of Education chair. Alexander took on the school board chair in 2014, four years after being appointed to the panel to fill a vacancy.

He transitioned to run for the finance board in 2017, and was elected vice chair after his reelection in 2019.

Roussas told The Newtown Bee that she was glad to be able to have led the finance panel over the past three years, and that she was pleased with the outcome of her board’s decision.

“Keith will do a fine job,” Roussas said.

Alexander said the transition of power was so smooth, it could serve as a lesson to national leaders in Washington.

“We had a smooth transition last night, something that the federal government could potentially learn from,” he said in an e-mail response to a request for comment.

“I thanked Sandy Roussas for her leadership for the past year,” Alexander continued. “She had to navigate extra troubles with the switch to online meetings and eventually hybrid meetings, but she kept us on track and focused on working through our policies along with regular monthly issues. I hope to do as well going forward.”

Although the December 14 finance board meeting is canceled and it is unclear whether the board will meet December 28, Alexander will be at the helm once the panel begins meeting again and ramping up for budget deliberations come January 11.