FYI, here is what's come in to the Blog that relates to this office/rank.
   For recent questions sent in, check out Robert Hickey's Blog.
   For specific offices/ranks, check out Robert Hickey's On-Line Guide.

How to Write a Couple's Name On a Donor List
When the Husband is a City Councilman?
     I am President of our Friends of the Library and are engraving some bricks for a new sidewalk path being installed.  We are including our Council Members and their wives, but are unsure the proper way of titling them.   We are given 3 rows of 16 characters or spaces each.  Would you please provide us some guidance?
     Would we list them as:
            Council Member Drexel and Kate Douglas
            Council Member Drexel & Kate Douglas
            Council Member Pam and Adam Steel
            Council Member Pam & Adam Steel
     Or some other variation?  We are trying to make this a surprise so have not approached any of them or City Hall.
            -- Jack Scott

Dear Mr. Scott,
    Hummmm. The options you suggest are awkward because you are combining official and social forms of address ... including an official's elected office ... with .... the couple's names in an social way.
    Members of city councils are typically addressed on an envelope or in the letter by whatever honorific they are entitled to (Mr./Ms./Dr./etc.), and identified as a member of a council: Mr. Drexel Douglas, Member, Hudson County Council
     You would never see Senator Evan and Susan Bayh in Washington. Formally when someone holds an office they get their name as a unit ... so .... Senator Evan Bayh and Mrs. Bayh ... is correct ... and is how an invitation would be better addressed to them.
     If you are limited for space and must include spouses, include the names and leave off the Council Member.  Bricks are permanent, membership on the city council is fleeting.
         -- Robert Hickey

How to Address A City Council Meeting?
    As president of a non-profit organization, I'm going to be making a presentation before my local city council requesting funding for a community service project. The seven member council sits on a raised platform at the front of the council chamber. The mayor and clerk-treasurer attend the meetings and are seated at a table to the right of the council members at floor level. The council president is the presiding official. When I get up to address the council, what should be my salutation? Should it be to all members of the council? Or should it be just to the council president? And should it include reference to the mayor and clerk-treasurer whose roles are mainly to comment and advise.  We are a small Hoosier town and I don't want to sound too highfalutin in my opening.
     Is Dear Members of City Council acceptable instead of Honorable Members of City Council?
     I would really like to show honor, respect and decorum in the way I conduct myself. Thanks for taking the time to read and answer this email.
          -- Bob In Ohio

Dear BIO.:
    If your oral comments are to all of present ... let's start with how to address each person and then work on their order.
    For the president and members of the city council
        President (surname)
        Members of the the City Council
    The Honorable always precedes a full name ... never an office: So a person is honorable, not an office.
    I am not completely clear whether the mayor & clerk/treasurer are part of "the official team" at the board meeting. But if included the mayor would be:
        Mr. Mayor or Mayor (surname)
    Normally clerks and treasurers are NOT most formally addressed as "Clerk (surname)" or "Treasurer (surname)."  So he or she would be:
        Mr./Ms. (surname)
    There is no need to mention his/her office: in this context everyone will know who he/she is.
    Now, about the order to mention them: I would want to know MORE to be certain who had the highest precedence at this event. But... based on the officials you mention... here is where I would start:
    1. A mayor in his own city
        (Was elected by all voters)
    2. A President of the council as presiding official at his own event
        (Represents all voters, and probably would succeed the mayor if they mayor died or stepped down ... like The Speaker of the House of Representatives succeeds the Vice President if both the VP and the President die or step down...)
    3. The clerk/treasurer if he/she was elected in a general election?
        (Was elected by all voters)
    4. The members of the council
        (Were elected by only their district's voters)
    That would result in the following:
        Mayor (surname), President (surname), Mr./Ms. (surname), and members of the city council.
    But it could be that the Mayor and Clerk/Treasurer are not "officially attending" but simply get excellent seats … in which case they would not be addressed. Then your opening would be:
        President (surname) and members of the city council.
    You should ask someone … perhaps the City Council's secretary -- before the meeting -- which is better.
          -- Robert Hickey

How to Address a Committeeman?
          How would you address (letter and envelope) to a Union NJ Committeeman?
                    ~ Kathleen P. McK.

Dear Ms. McK.:
         Adapt the form I give in my book on page 200 for a member of a city or county council or board.
         In the salutation Mr./Ms. (Surname): would be the most formal
          .... but it would not be incorrect to use Dear Committeeman (Surname):
           -- Robert Hickey

Back to directory of titles  /  See who is using Honor & Respect

For forms of address for invitations, place cards, name badges, introductions, conversation, and all other formal uses, see Honor & Respect: the Official Guide to Names, Titles, and Forms of Address.

Copyright © 2012 Robert Hickey.     All Rights Reserved.
Photo: Marc Goodman.