Want to Run for Council?

Image: Aftermath of an ice storm.

Ever thought of running for City Council?

If you have, and you live in the First, Second or Fourth Ward, it might be a good idea to attend council meetings this month and next, to see what you might be in for if you happen to win a seat.

February’s meetings are an agenda-setting session Monday (Feb. 7) in City Hall Library, 515 Watchung Ave., and a regular meeting Monday, Feb. 14 in Municipal Court, 325 Watchung Ave. The agenda is posted on the city web site and includes rules for citizen participation. March meetings also fall on the 7th and 14th, with the same format and locations.

The two seats that are up for election this year are for the Second Ward and for the First & Fourth at-large. If you get through the June primary and win the November general election, you get a four-year term with a modest stipend. You will be expected to attend at least 24 council meetings per year, as well as town meetings in the wards and special meetings as necessary. You will be signed up for several council committees and liaisons to various other governmental entities. Your address and phone number will be published on the city web site and you will be expected to respond to your constituents.

If all the above whets your appetite for public service, you can file to run in the June primary. The deadline is 4 p.m. on April 4. Petitions are available in the City Clerk’s office. There is some cost attached to campaigning, as well as a strict set of state rules for reporting on campaign donations. At minimum, you will need a small band of supporters to help get the word out and to work on the campaign trail. You will most likely be at a disadvantage compared to incumbents, who have name and face recognition that you may not have, as well as experience in campaigning and possibly party support.

If you win the primary on June 7, you will then have to work on winning the Nov. 8 general election. And if you win the general election, you will take office on Jan. 1, 2012 for four years.

Back to Monday’s City Council meeting. Some people have won council seats with only a minimal understanding of how municipal government works or the duties of a councilperson. But if you have the least glimmer of a notion to run for office, it’s better to observe at least a couple of meetings and get an idea of what the commitment entails.

We’ll be checking April 4 to see who has decided to run!

--Bernice