GARDINER — Gardiner officials have outlined the process for filling the vacant District 2 seat on the City Council.
Kerstin Gilg, who was elected to the District 2 seat in November 2021, resigned — effective June 30 — because he was moving out of the city.
Elected officials have set a deadline of Wednesday, Aug. 10, for any resident of District 2 interested in filling the seat until the next election to submit a letter of interest at City Hall.
District 2 comprises a wedge-shaped territory of west-central Gardiner, stretching from Elm Street, along Brunswick Avenue corridor, to the Timberwood Drive area.
When the City Council meets Aug. 17, it is expected to invite candidates to give a short presentation and make a selection through a secret ballot.
Mayor Patricia Hart said because the next election is in November, anyone interested in serving beyond the temporary term must submit signatures to appear on the November ballot.
Petitions are available beginning Monday and due by noon on Sept. 2.
Gilg expressed interest in serving on the City Council via the same process. In January 2019, he and two other people put their names up for the District 2 seat left vacant when Hart was elected mayor halfway through her City Council term. Gilg was not selected. He then ran unsuccessfully in 2020 for one of the three at-large seats.
Two other seats on the City Council have been filled recently by candidates who went on to be elected to complete the terms for those seats.
Russell Greenleaf was appointed in August 2021 to fill the at-large seat vacated by Maryann White when she moved out of Gardiner, and he was elected to the seat in November 2021.
Kathleen Brown was appointed in October 2021 to fill an at-large seat the City Council declared vacant after Penny Sergent moved out of Gardiner, was elected to the seat in the June 14 municipal election.
This year, Gardiner’s three at-large City Council seats and the mayor’s seat are up for election in November.
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