At the end of this evening’s common council meeting, Alderman Jim Martuscello asked that any suggestions for replacing recently-resigned council member Rodney Wojnar be directed to either himself, Montgomery County Democratic Committee Chair Terry Bieniek, or former alderman Chad Majewski.
“I’m making it open and clear where we’re going from this point on for our next alderman for the fourth ward,” said Martuscello.
Wojnar, a Democrat, announced his resignation via a letter from his attorney yesterday. Under the city’s charter, a vacancy on the council may be filled with a person appointed by the council, with the same party affiliation as the outgoing member.
In the past, the council has voted to appoint replacements recommended by party leadership. However, after the recent resignation of Chad Majewski, a Democrat, Martsucello, also a Democrat, opted to back Arthur Iannuzzi over the local Democratic sub-committee’s selection. Martuscello voted with the two Republican council members to approve Iannuzzi by a 3-1 vote.
Although Wojnar is a Democrat, he ran in last year’s election under an independent line due to a problem with his petition for the Democratic line. Martuscello said that advice from both Corporation Counsel William Lorman and the New York Conference of Mayors (NYCOM) indicated that Wojnar’s affiliation with the Democratic Party meant that his replacement will have to be a Democrat as well, regardless of the ballot line he ran on.
Martuscello added he would be glad to take suggestions from the other sitting council members.
“We want to make this a smooth transition, and we want to get someone to fill the seat and carry on what we started here,” said Martuscello.
