How Many Council Seats Are Up?

Someone is asking about the number of City Council seats up for election this year. There are seven seats in all and they come up in a set sequence by wards:

Ward 1 and 2&3 at-large
Ward 2 and 1&4 at-large
Ward 3 and Citywide at-large
Ward 4 and Mayor

In 2010, it is the Ward 1 and 2&3 at-large seats that are up. The incumbents are Councilman William Reid in the First Ward and Councilman Rashid Burney in the Second & Third at-large seat. Candidates must file by April 12 for the June primary. To run for a City Council seat, a candidate must be a legal voter of the city and must have been a resident for at least one year in the ward or wards he or she seeks to represent.

However, if Councilwoman Linda Carter should win a Union County freeholder seat, the 1&4 could become vacant, depending when she resigns. She could stay on until Jan. 1, when she would assume the freeholder post, or she could resign earlier and an appointee would have to be named. The process for appointees is that three names are offered by the Democratic City Committee and the council chooses one to serve until the next general election. Carter was re-elected in 2007 and took office on Jan. 1, 2008, so her four-year term expires on Dec. 31, 2011.

Also, if Councilman Adrian Mapp becomes the city chief finance officer, he would have to vacate his council seat. The Democratic City Committee would then offer three names for an appointee to hold the seat until the November general election, when the two-year balance of his term would be on the ballot.

Except for a big upset in 2008 when Mapp and Council President Annie McWilliams won the June Democratic primary against incumbents who had the party line, those who are endorsed by the Democratic Party have tended to win the primary and the general election.

For those who are interested, past election results are posted on the Union County web site under the County Clerk's link.

--Bernice Paglia