We now have one less candidate in the May council race. Kerry Lynch, who announced his run against incumbent Paul Riddick for the Ward 4 seat, failed to gather the required 125 signatures. Lynch waited until Tuesday to file his petitions, leaving no time for him to rectify the situation that he was 8 signatures short.
The same article confirms what I’ve been hearing for a while now: that Daun Hester’s position as Vice Mayor is in jeopardy. As I mentioned earlier, she was the only council member not present at Riddick’s office opening. As she was supporting Lynch, I didn’t expect her to be there. The Pilot article seems to indicate that it is her support of Lynch that is at issue:
“I think it’s in poor taste to oppose a sitting council person,” said Winn, who is not facing reelection in May. “I would never do it unless the person was incompetent or had done something illegal or blatantly out of the interest of the city.”
Is there something else going on here? No one complained four years ago when Hester recruited Anthony Burfoot to challenge Herb Collins. No doubt Collins’ poor health, which contributed to his inability to attend council meetings, was part of the reason but I’m not sure he had reached the level of incomptence. Perhaps council thought so, though, as they did not protest. Of course, Hester’s real reason for recruiting someone to run against Collins may have been to get even with him for running against her earlier, and council may have agreed that such retaliation was appropriate.
In any event, it will be interesting to see how this plays out. Council will elect the vice mayor in July. Stay tuned!
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 