CUMMING — The Cumming City Council welcomed its two newest members and gave a sendoff to their longtime predecessors during a meeting Tuesday night.

Linda Ledbetter in Post 5 and Christopher Light in Post 4 were sworn in by Rich Neville, chief judge for municipal court. They won their seats during in November, after former incumbents John D. Pugh and Ralph Perry decided not to seek re-election.

Tuesday was not the first oath of office for Ledbetter, as the retired educator served one term on the Forsyth County commission from 2005-08.  She is also the first woman on the city council since Dot Otwell served a two-year term in the late 1950s.

“So after about 60 years, we‘ve got a lady back on the city council,” said Mayor Ford Gravitt. “She told she was honored and ready to be … a hard worker for the people of Cumming and Forsyth County.”

Ledbetter won her election with 224 votes, about 53 percent of the total, over her opponent Julie Tressler, a real estate agent and small business owner.

Gravitt said he was anticipating that Light, an attorney with the local firm Lipscomb, Johnson, Sleister, Dailey and Smith, would be a good fit for the council.

“I know he’ll do a good job,” he said.  “I’ve known Christopher since he was a little bitty baby … I know he’s eager to put the boots on running and he’ll do a good job for us.”

Light was the top vote-getter in his race with 171 votes, or 39 percent, defeating Jack Shoemake, Avery Stone, Dana Sexton and Guy McBrayer.

He is also the second in his immediate family to currently hold office, as his mother, Darla Sexton Light, is the chairwoman of the Forsyth County Board of Education.

After no change for more than two decades, Ledbetter and Light are the second and third new members to the city’s governing body. They join Chuck Welch, who took in July after winning a special to fill the unexpired Post 1 term of Rupert Sexton, who stepped down to enjoy retirement.

During the meeting, Pugh and Perry were each thanked for their service and presented with the name plates that sat at the council table. Perry had served on the board since 1979 and Pugh since 1993.

“I couldn’t ask for better friendship and better cooperation from the board than Ralph and John D,” Gravitt said. “They did a great community service, and we can all look around the city … and on the outskirts and everywhere, you can see the fingerprints of these two gentlemen.”

Also Tuesday night, Councilman Lewis Ledbetter, who is the first cousin of Linda Ledbetter, was joined by family as he was sworn in to the Post 3 seat he has held since 1971. He ran unopposed last fall.

“I joke with Lewis that he probably knows this oath by heart, since he’s been taking it every four years since [1971],” Neville said.