MORGANTOWN — Seth Collins, who ran as a 1st Ward write-in candidate in Morgantown City Council’s April election, said he intends to apply for the vacated seat.
It now remains to be seen how many other 1st Ward residents are interested in the job as the city clerk’s office will accept applications for the next seven days.
Patrick Hathaway was unopposed on April’s ballot and garnered 900 votes to win the seat, but never took the oath of office as his wife accepted a job in Illinois that required the couple to relocate.
During its July 6 meeting — the first of the new council — the body opted to take applications, conduct interviews and appoint a 1st Ward representative rather than hold a special election, which couldn’t be held until Sept. 28, at the earliest, according to the city’s charter.
That gives council only until July 31 to make an appointment, which must come within 30 days of the July 1 vacancy, again, per the city’s charter.
The process will mirror that undertaken in March, when the previous council appointed Deb Bergen to fill Zack Cruze’s 3rd Ward seat after he resigned to accept employment in California.
Anyone interested in applying to fill the seat must be a resident of the 1st Ward. There’s an interactive map on the city’s website, morgantownwv.gov, to assist with that determination.
To be considered, submit your name, address, contact information and a resume to City Clerk Christine Wade at cwade@morgantownwv.gov no later than 5:30 p.m. July 16.
City Council will interview some or all of the applicants July 20 and vote to appoint a new member July 27.
The appointee will hold the seat until June 30, 2023.
Collins, who garnered 380 votes as a write-in candidate, said he still wants the job.
“It definitely is something I’m still interested in pursuing,” he told The Dominion Post. “I was sorry [Hathaway] couldn’t accept it. We’ve all been there, where something comes up we weren’t expecting. Life just happens sometimes. I was sorry to hear it, but it was also very exciting for me to now have another chance at representing the 1st Ward and the city as a whole.”
Collins, 22, will enter graduate school at WVU in the fall to pursue a master’s degree in public administration.
He said he’s looking forward to the selection process.
“I am excited that they’re going to be doing interviews. It will give council a chance to meet me in person and form an opinion based off of what I say rather than what they hear from others,” he said.
Morgantown Communications Director Andrew Stacy said the city won’t publish the names of applicants until after the July 16 deadline in order to allow the clerk’s office time to verify eligibility.
The city clerk’s office can be reached at 304-284-7434.
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