CHESTERTOWN — The window of opportunity for hopefuls for Chestertown’s Ward 3 and Ward 4 council seats is closing.
Soon.
End of business on Friday, Dec. 19 is the filing deadline for candidates for the two seats that will soon become open due to the outcome of last month’s election.
In contested races, voters picked a new mayor in Meghan Efland and returned Sheila Austrian to her Ward 1 council seat.
David Foster did not run for re-election as mayor.
Also on the Nov. 4 ballot was the Ward 3 council seat. No one filed and incumbent Jose Medrano did not seek a second term.
Efland is two years into a second four-year term as the Ward 4 representative. Her council seat will become vacant when she is sworn in as mayor at the first meeting of the new year, Jan. 5, 2026.
As of Wednesday, Dec. 17, there are two certified candidates for the Ward 4 seat, ensuring there will be a special election. Marcus Goldman and Stephen Lozar have filed a petition of candidacy, meeting the requirements as spelled out in the town charter.
Meantime, no one has filed for the Ward 3 seat, according to Town Clerk Lynda Thomas.
“I had a couple people call about running for Ward 3 but they said it was for someone else,” Thomas told The Evening Enterprise in an email.
Thomas also said a few people have picked up candidate packets for Ward 3 and Ward 4.
Qualified candidates must be registered voters; at least 21; and have lived in the town for at least a year and at least one month in the ward they will represent. They also must submit 20 signatures from residents in their ward who are registered voters.
For more information, including the ward map, see https://www.chestertown.gov/2025-elections.