The filing period for candidates in the Windsor Town Council’s upcoming special election to fill the fifth council seat opened Dec. 20, according to Town Clerk Irene Camacho-Werby.
The special election will be held on April 12, 2022, and is for the regular at-large council seat vacated by Sam Salmon when he assumed the mayorship following Dominic Foppoli’s resignation last June.
The winning candidate will only occupy the seat for a short time however, with the term, which began in 2018, to conclude in December 2022.
Since Foppoli’s resignation, the council has been operating with only four voting members, leaving it prone to deadlock. The fifth council member could have influence on key items, such as whether to put it to voters to abandon the two-year at-large mayoral seat in favor of a fifth district council member (leaving the council to appoint the mayor itself) and the future of the Civic Center project proposed by developer Robert Green.
At the Dec. 1 council meeting, Mayor Salmon suggested the Civic Center project could become a major issue in the upcoming campaign, with the new candidate potentially casting the deciding vote in June regarding whether to continue negotiations or else kill the project on.
With Windsor transitioning to district-based elections, this will likely be the last time Windsor voters at large select a non-mayoral councilmember. Following a recent study that found racially polarized voting does occur in Windsor, a return to an at-large system would be impractical.
In order to file for candidacy, candidates must contact the town clerk’s office and file official nomination petitions prior to Jan. 14, 2022. Forms can be obtained by appointment at the Office of the Town Clerk, 9291 Old Redwood Highway, Building 400. To schedule an appointment, call 707-838-5315, or email Camacho-Werby at iw****@to***********.com or to*******@to***********.com.
