October 6, 2005

Mary J. Alexander announced on Monday that she will step down from Village Council for health reasons.

Alexander made the announcement during a brief statement at the beginning of Council’s meeting on Oct. 3.

She said she wanted to announce her plans now because there’s a Council election in a month, and because she did not want to surprise anyone when she does step down. Voters will elect three people to Council on Nov. 8.

Alexander’s seat is not one of the three Council positions available in the election. She was elected to a four-year term in 2003. She first joined Council in March 2003, when she was appointed to fill the remainder of Hazel Latson’s term after Latson resigned.

The seats on Council that are available in the November election are held by Denise Swinger; Jeff Singleton, who was appointed last month to replace Tony Arnett, who resigned; and Bruce Rickenbach, who in April filled a vacancy caused when George Pitstick resigned. Rickenbach is running for election next month, while Swinger and Singleton are not candidates.

Alexander said that she plans to resign sometime between the end of November and March or April 2006.

She said her decision to step down is “strictly for health reasons.”

Under the requirements of the Village Charter, Council members would be charged with appointing a Yellow Springs resident to serve the remainder of Alexander’s term.

Contact: rmihalek@ysnews.com