As the Westbrook City Council moves forward in its debate on allowing city employees to run for elected office, the person who sparked the debate is leaving the city for a job in Cape Elizabeth.

Ruthie Noble, Westbrook’s deputy clerk, has accepted the Cape Elizabeth town clerk’s position. Her last day in Westbrook is Aug. 31.

Noble was considered a potential candidate for Westbrook city clerk if the city changed its policy barring employees from running for office. The administration had concerns about the potential impact on managing city hall employees if they were running a campaign, while the majority of the city council seemed to support the change that would allow more people to run.

Westbrook’s city clerk position will be filled by voters this November. Barbara Hawkes, elected as the city clerk every two years for the last 14 years, has announced she will be retiring after her current term is up in January. Noble had considered running if she was allowed.

The Westbrook City Council is slated to consider changing that policy, a suggestion made by Councilor Michael Foley, but Noble said she did not want to give up the opportunity in Cape Elizabeth with the outcomes of both the council’s decision and the election still up in the air.

“My future in Westbrook has been uncertain for quite some time,” Noble said.

Westbrook City Councilor John O’Hara said Noble’s absence in conjunction with Hawkes’ retirement will make it “very difficult” for the office to recover. Council President Brendan Rielly is concerned about the loss of institutional memory in the clerk’s office.

Hawkes, however, said she has no worries about the upcoming election. She said she will have plenty of time to train a new deputy and she knows of several people who are ready to apply for Noble’s old job.

A special meeting with the Cape Elizabeth town council to approve Town Manager Mike McGovern’s request to appoint Noble to the position, at a salary of $49,000, will be held on Monday at 1:45 p.m. She is scheduled to start working in the town on Sept. 10.

“I’ve always been very much in favor of the appointment of city clerk,” Noble said. “You can get on with the business at hand instead of worrying about campaigning to be elected to the position you were trained for.”

Westbrook voters rejected a proposal to appoint the city clerk in a referendum on May 22. Councilor Ed Symbol had led the move with concerns that if the city clerk’s position were to be paid a salary instead of a stipend, the position should be filled by appointment. Symbol was also concerned that the position was paid a salary but had no contract dictating job requirements and had no oversight by city management.

Symbol recently made an attempt to reduce the clerk’s salary to a stipend, but was the lone councilor in support of the change.

Noble has worked in Westbrook City Hall since 1998, when she was hired by the finance office. She has been deputy clerk since 1999, and has been interested in moving up the ladder. She had previously said she would not consider running if the position were changed to a stipend position.

“The fact that we couldn’t have given her the opportunity in Westbrook … is really too bad for us,” Foley said.

Rielly said Noble’s move was precipitated by “resistance from city hall every step of the way” toward changing the human resource policy on allowing city employees to run for office.

“We lost one of the most talented employees in the city because of city hall,” Rielly said.

Westbrook Human Resources Director Tina Crellin said two weeks ago that the policy is in place to separate employees from party politics. Crellin said conflicts of interest could arise if, for example, code enforcement officers were running for office while they were responsible for code violation citations.

City employees, while not banned from politics altogether, are also prohibited from active and visible political pamphleting and fundraising.

Both Foley and Rielly said the debate will move forward, even in the absence of Noble, because they believe it to be a worthwhile change.

“The more people the merrier,” Foley said. “People can say we brought it forward for Ruthie, but it just didn’t come up before her.”

Noble said she expects working in Cape Elizabeth will be “vastly different” from working in Westbrook, where she said it is easy to get caught up and distracted by the politics of the city.

“I think it will be less political, and I can focus on the work of the town clerk,” she said about the Cape Elizabeth job. “The politics of Westbrook do take up part of your time.”

Noble, a 1979 graduate of Greeley High School, is licensed in property and casualty insurance service. After nearly two decades of working in insurance, Noble “was ready to try something different.” She said she always had an interest in municipal government, which led her to Westbrook City Hall.

Noble, 46, lives in Westbrook with her husband, Kirk Noble, and a number of animals, including a potbelly pig. They do not plan on moving.

Noble lived in Cape Elizabeth from 1991 to 1993, which she believes has given her a feel for the town.

“I look forward to returning,” she said. “It’s just an absolutely lovely town.”

Noble said she will miss her position in Westbrook, but is even more excited to start her new job. Westbrook officials, however, said they will be sad to see her go.

“I’m sorry that a person of Ruth’s qualities and commitment to the city of Westbrook is moving on,” said O’Hara.

Still, folks in the city are happy for Noble and wish her the best in her new position.

“I think it’ll be a great opportunity for her,” said Hawkes.

According to McGovern, Noble’s reputation in the city is one of the reasons she was chosen for the position in Cape Elizabeth.

“She’s very well respected in Westbrook,” said McGovern, who said he is looking forward to working with the new clerk.

Though Noble’s last day isn’t until Aug. 31, she said, in her mind, she’s already started her new job.

“It certainly is Cape Elizabeth’s gain and Westbrook’s loss,” O’Hara said.

Town clerk – Cape’s gain is Westbrook’s loss