Leaving town, Sewickley councilman says he will resign in July

Sewickley City Councilman Brian Bozzo resigns and moves to another city.

The registered independent announced he would soon be independent from his elected position at a June 11 council meeting.

He told colleagues that he, his wife Lindsay and their three children would move from the First Ward next month to a larger house in Glen Osborne, about 100 yards away.

“I think this city is truly in a much better place because of the work we have done together as a council,” Bozzo said. “There is certainly nothing to be ashamed of. I take this opportunity to say “goodbye”, but also to say “thank you” to each of you, because it is clear that you care about this city.

Bozzo, 39, was appointed to the board in July 2021 to fill Christine Allen’s unexpired term.

He won a four-year seat in that year’s election. His term expires at the end of 2025.

“It has been a great pleasure working with you,” said Board Chair Cynthia Mullins. “I think back to your beginnings with us, the journey you have taken and your contribution. Thank you from the heart. I think you did a very good job for us.

“No one here is on the board looking out for their own interests. None of us are here to feather our own nest. … I think everyone here is donating their time, their resources and that’s great advice.

Other council members and Mayor George Shannon thanked Bozzo for his service.

“We’re glad you’re not straying too far,” Shannon said.

Bozzo works as an intellectual property and patent attorney at K&L Gates. Prior to that, he worked for 12 years as a spacecraft design engineer and project manager for Lockheed Martin, an aerospace and defense company.

He said he is very proud of his work with other First Ward residents and Duquesne Light to resolve the power outages.

This part of the city would experience about 10 outages per year, mostly due to storms.

“We went door to door and surveyed residents in Ward 1 to determine who was losing the most power and where,” Bozzo said.

The result was a color-coded map and several letters addressed to the power company.

These efforts identified a tree problem along Water Works Road impacting the supply from Beaver Street.

“They installed a fuse that now when the trees take down the lines, that fuse opens and protects Ward 1 from any loss of power,” Bozzo said. “We lost it maybe once for two hours over two years after we fixed that.”

Bozzo was also instrumental in securing more than $1 million in grants for the borough’s wastewater treatment plant. It also attracted a lot of attention to various hillsides affected by landslides.

“I will look back on these years and probably some of the proudest moments of my life will come from what we did in service to our neighbors here,” Bozzo said.

Attorney Nate Boring said the board would likely accept the resignation on July 9.

He has 30 days from that moment to appoint someone.

Whoever is appointed will have to run in next year’s elections to keep their seat.

The vacant position is expected to be posted on the district’s website this month.

Interested individuals can submit their resumes and letters of interest to the borough office, 601 Thorn Street.