The City of Vandalia’s longest serving Mayor is looking at running for a 5th term in office. Candidates started a few weeks back picking up petitions for the Consolidated Election, which will be held in April, and Vandalia Mayor Rick Gottman has picked up his petition in anticipation he will run for a 5th term. Mayor Gottman is already the longest serving Mayor in the city’s history. City Clerk Peggy Bowen has also picked up her petition to run for re-election. Bowen would be running for her 6th term in office.
As for City of Vandalia Alderman, there have been 3 petitions picked up in Ward One. Steve Barker, Joseph Crawford, and Charles Schilling have all picked up petitions to run for the open Ward One Alderman seat. Long time Ward One Alderman Jerry Swarm had decided not to run for another term. In Ward Two, Dorothy Crawford has picked up her petition to run for another term, as has Mike Hobler in Ward Three and Andy Lester in Ward Four. In Ward Three, Joel Rebbe has picked up his petition to run for the 2 years remaining on the term in office that he was appointed to last year. This is the time period when candidates pick up their petitions and begin to circulate for signatures—but the actual filing of petitions is still a ways off. Petitions are to be filed between December 12th and December 19th.