Mayor Robert Gibbons
Robert Gibbons, who prefers "Bob", graduated from Fordham Law School in 1969 and practiced law for 42 years. For most of his career, he was a partner at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, a major international law firm headquartered in New York City. He represented corporations, investment banks, lending institutions and governmental entities (federal, state, municipal and other domestic government entities) as well as foreign governments (such as Hungary and the Czech Republic, among others) in the development and financing of industrial facilities and public infrastructure projects in the US and abroad. A domestic example is, for instance, the municipal electric utilities of Jacksonville and Orlando, Florida.
Bob’s community activities have included New Canaan Country School (Board President), New Canaan Field Club (Board Member; Membership Committee Chairperson), New Canaan Winter Club (Board Member), Town of New Canaan Utilities Commission (Commission Member), New Canaan Youth Baseball (Board Member), Ocean Residences Condominium Association (Board Member) and Orchid Island Beach and Dune Preservation Advisory Committee - Feasibility Task Force (Task Force Member).
Bob and his wife Judy have been residents of the Town of Orchid since 1999 and spend their summers in New Canaan, CT where all three children and their families reside.
Role of the Mayor
The Town of Orchid functions as a Council-Manager government. Within that design, it is the Mayor who is charged with applying the rules of conduct of the Town Council's meetings and workshops, and who should be well versed in the Town's parliamentary rules. It is up to the Mayor to ensure order at the meeting, to keep track of proper motion-making processes and to steward the discussion of items according to the agenda. The Mayor should allow each member of the body the opportunity to participate fully. Orchid's Mayor, as a member of the Town Council, is charged with voting on Town Council matters.
The Mayor must also guide public participation. To facilitate the understanding of the meeting by the public, it’s important for the Mayor/Chair to be mindful of the following:
- Tell the public what the body will be doing.
- Keep the public informed while the body is doing it.
- When the body has acted, tell the public what the body did.
In addition to stewarding the Town Council's meetings, the Mayor is charged with a variety of responsibilities outlined in the Town's Code of Ordinances. These include the review and approval of minor setback variances, review and approval of minor modifications to approved site plans, signing approved final plats. In addition, the Mayor administratively supports by signing service agreements, resolutions, ordinances as well as proclamations.
Mayors may write newsletters to keep the Town's residents abreast of information he believes is of interest to our community. Such letters are shared via email to subscribers and can be found on the Letters to Residents page among other Town communications.
Councilmember Term
Mayor Gibbons was sworn into his third four-year term on November 29, 2022, after he ran unopposed in the election that same year. He originally came on the Town Council in November of 2014. From November 2016 he was annually selected to serve as Vice-Mayor, until November 19, 2020, when he was promoted by his peers to serve as Mayor of the Town Council. His current term extends to November, 2026.
County & Regional Committee Appointments
Mayor Gibbons acts as the Town's main representative for the Treasure Coast Regional League of Cities.
Mayors of the Town of Orchid
Following is a list of the Mayors, who served the Town of Orchid throughout its history.
- George Lier 1966-1981
- Lee E. Johnston 1981-1982
- Anne Denby Michael 1983-1986
- Lee E. Johnston 1986-1988
- Robert H. Haines IV 1988-1991
- Ted Leonsis 1991-1994
- W. Lynn Velde 1994-1998
- C. Warren Crandall 1998-2004
- Richard Dunlop 2004-2012
- Harold Ofstie 2012-2020
- Robert Gibbons 2020-current
