Mayor Ed Green of Rifle had his last day as mayor on Wednesday. 

After the city of Rifle had their regular meeting, City Manager Tommy Klein and City Clerk Misty Williams presented Green with an award for his service to the city of Rifle. 

Mayor Green had served the city as council member from 2015 to 2021 then as mayor since then. 

Klein, while presenting the award, spoke about the Mayor’s experience before he came to Rifle. Green had a great deal of experience with local government, having been hired as the city manager in North Palm Beach, Florida, and being the county manager of Garfield County. 

“I just want to say I thank God for the opportunity to have served as both councilor and mayor for our city and for the residents but I also consider it a pleasure to work with a very talented staff and also with you guys. You’re the best,” Mayor Green said to the other six council members. 

Mayor Green spoke about his experience as mayor.

“I never thought of myself as a politician,” he said. “As a matter of a fact, I worked for them for over 15 years and really didn’t have a very good taste in my mouth about that.”

The Mayor also thanked his wife, who helped him think about difficult issues after work.

“Sometimes I would pontificate here and then when I came home, she would, very diplomatically, say, ‘What in the world are you thinking?’ And most of the time, she was right,” he said. 

Mayor Green not only received an award from the city, but also a basket of things he would need in his life, like antacids, playdough, arthritis cream, which he joked he could use right at that moment, and a pink gavel that he contemplated giving to his wife. 

Councilor Joe Carpenter gave him a heartfelt gift, one that he said he was “totally embarrassed to buy” but did so anyway, and gave Mayor Green a U.S. Army baseball hat. Mayor Green received it among much laughter. 

Williams, Klein and City Attorney Jim Neu all expressed gratitude to Mayor Green and then all the council members thanked him, not only for his service, but to his advice and talks they’ve had with him.