Auburn’s newest council member recently received some helpful advice from a former city lawmaker, and he intends to take it to heart.

“Judge (Pat) Burns told me to expect a four-year learning curve,” said John Partridge. “He also told me to ask a lot of questions, to be open and to laugh at myself now and then.”

Partridge, 45, who bested three-term City Councilman Gene Cerino in the Nov. 3 general election, raised his right hand at 6:30 p.m. Monday and took the oath of office. One hour later he sat for his first Council meeting.

“I was looking forward to getting things started tonight,” Partridge said. “So it seemed like a long time to sit there and wait for the starting gun to go off, but it finally did.”

Partridge will serve on the Municipal Services Committee, the Financial Committee and the regional Law, Safety and Justice Committee.

“It’s a good fit for me,” said Partridge, owner of Partridge Insurance Agency and the city’s former fire and police chaplain. “I was 17 years old when I attended my first city committee meeting, and I never dreamed that I would be honored to this point to serve. I am humbled and excited.”

He expects he’ll adjust fairly quickly to the time demands of his office.

“We pick up our Council packets on Friday, and we’ve got the weekend to work it through and three to five hours worth of good, hard study. Basically, you’ve got to make sure you are prepared for the committee meeting and the following Council meetings every two weeks,” Partridge said.

Partridge, a lifelong resident of Auburn, is the husband of Shirlee and the father of three daughters, the fourth generation of Partridges to live in the same house. His daughter, Devanni, Miss Washington, will be competing in Las Vegas this month for the Miss America crown.

Partridge ran his first business at age 18, sold it at 23, and as a young husband and father used the money to put himself through college. After college, he interned at a local church and donated seven years of service to the City as its fire and police chaplain. In 2000, Partridge bought back the insurance business his late father had founded in 1965 in Federal Way and he has run it ever since.

As a member of the Auburn Noon Lions, Partridge served as its president in 2008. He helped launch the first Auburn High School PTSA, volunteered as its treasurer and helped it achieve 501 C3 status.

“Giving back to my community is the cornerstone of my life,” Partridge said.