MONROE — The Monroe Common Council will likely look very different after the April election. Three of the four members of the council are officially not running for re-election.
Aldermen Chris Beer, Ron Marsh and Jeff Newcomer have terms ending in 2019 and have filed papers of non-candidacy with City Clerk Arianna Voegeli.
“It’s time for new visions, time for somebody else to have a crack at it,” Newcomer said, adding that frustrations within the last year “have sealed the deal for me to not run again.”
For Chris Beer, it’s about addressing important personal parts of life. Beer began on council in April 2011 and served for a year before redistricting occurred, forcing a year hiatus. In April 2013, Beer was re-elected and has served since.
“It’s not an easy job, sometimes it’s pretty thankless, but I’d like to think I brought some good comments to the table and made some good decisions,” Beer said.
Newcomer also said he and his family are looking to move out of city limits, which means if he were to be re-elected, he would likely be unable to serve most of the two-year term because he would no longer be a city resident.
Marsh has filed papers of non-candidacy after a short stint on council, though his history with the city has been much longer. He served as mayor of Monroe from April 2006 to April 2010. When he joined Monroe Common Council in April 2016, he was appointed by Mayor Louis Armstrong.
The appointment filled Armstrong’s vacancy left after he defeated former mayor Bill Ross. Marsh ran for re-election after the one-year appointment term and was successful in April 2017.
Newcomer began his tenure on the council after the spring election in 2013. He was appointed to represent the former 4th Ward. He was first elected to the position in April 2014 and has served since.
Alderwoman Brooke Bauman has filed papers declaring her candidacy for a fourth term on council. She began with the election in 2011. Voegeli said Bauman still needs to submit her nomination papers, which require the signatures of 50 city residents eligible to vote.
Three positions will be open for the spring election. City wards no longer apply, so each seat is open to all residents. There is potential for more than one write-in candidate.
Monroe Municipal Airport Supervisor Rob Driver has taken out papers in person at City Hall.
The deadline to turn in nomination papers is Jan. 2.
Voegeli said nomination papers are available on the city website, which means other unknown people could be attempting to gather signatures before the deadline. A few people have expressed interest in passing discussions, she said, but none have taken out formal papers. If someone were to decide to run after the deadline, they can declare themselves an official write-in candidate. It is required if a candidate plans to campaign before the March 29 deadline for write-in registration.