No Candidate Emerges for 5th District Common Council Seat

Editor's note: The following article has been updated to reflect a correction regarding filing deadline dates.

One Port Washington Common Council seat has no candidate after the filing deadline passed with no applicants to the 5th District.

Ald. Joe Dean serves in that seat and filed his noncandidacy papers by the Dec. 21 deadline, Deputy Clerk Susan Westerbecke said. However, no other person has filed for candidacy in that district as of the filing deadline on Wednesday, meaning no name will appear on the ballot, she said; the hope is that a write-in candidate will emerge.

"I decided to not run again, based on my many other commitments (volunteer work, county, career, etc.) and because I want to return my focus to faith and family," Dean said in an e-mail to Patch. "I truly believe Port has turned a significant corner in terms of energy, fiscal discipline, our downtown and environmental protection — all key reasons why I wanted to jump back in. ... I plan to run through this finish line, working as hard as I can through the expiration of my term in April and as a volunteer for this unique and amazing city in the future."

Write-in candidates on election night will be tallied, and the name receiving the most write-in votes will be elected to the seat, Westerbecke said. If that winning write-in candidate were to decline the seat, the position would become mayor-appointed; if there are no write-ins, Mayor Tom Mlada will then appoint an alderman.

The three other seats up for election will all have uncontested races. Those include the 3rd District, where Ald. Jim Vollmar has decided not to seek re-election. There, newcomer Bill Driscoll is the only candidate.

In the 1st District, incumbent Mike Ehrlich is the only candidate; in the 7th District, incumbent Dan Becker is the only person running.

Port Washington aldermen make $3,750 annually and serve two-year terms. The spring election is April 2.