Other cities in Oregon may be wedded to local primary elections at every opportunity, but Stanfield shrugs them off.
“The process of elections for a city is based off what the city charter dictates and has to fit with the state statutes as well, but the city of Stanfield charter specifically states every two years at general elections is when voters select three city councilors, and every fourth year, they do so for the mayor position,” Stanfield City Manager Benjamin Burgener said.
The November general election in Stanfield will select all four positions. However, no one has filed as candidates for any of those positions, but time remains to do so.
“Every term for the mayor is four years so you rotate the three councilor seats that are open each and every two years,” Burgener said.
Candidates have until Aug. 27 to file, Burgener said. Rosa Holt, serving since August 2022, Ralph “Butch” Parris, serving since May 2018, and Don Tyrrell, serving since January 1983, hold the city council seats up for election in November.
Burgener said Mayor Susan Whelan has not indicated whether she will be running. She stepped into the office when the former mayor, Thomas McCann, died of a heart attack on April 16, 2022. She had been a city councilor since January 2017.
Waiting until November to decide all four seats increases the mathematical likelihood of a tie in the ballots cast.
“The charter doesn’t specify on that,” Burgener said, “so we would default to the Oregon state statutes on how to work that, or it could default to the council to determine what the runoff would look like.”
As city manager, Burgener is a hired employee, serving since 2019 at the pleasure of the city council and mayor, so he needs no campaigning to keep his job.
However, Burgener is a finalist competing for the city manager job in Milton-Freewater. The city hosted a meet-and-greet with the candidates Monday, March 25. Formal candidate interviews are March 26 at a private meeting starting at 9 a.m.
The deadline for voters to register for the May 21 election is April 30 and the deadline is Oct. 15 to register for the Nov. 5 general election.
