Better hurry if you want to throw your hat into the ring to be appointed to an open seat on Allentown City Council.
Applications will be accepted only until 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the city clerk’s office in City Hall.
The person appointed will serve through December 2015, completing the term of Peter Schweyer, who has resigned from council after winning election to become a state legislator.
Eligible candidates must be adult residents of Allentown and Democrats, because Schweyer is a Democrat.
As of 6 p.m. Wednesday, only three people had submitted applications to complete Schweyer’s term, said City Council vice president Raymond O’Connell.
He declined to identify those who have applied so far, saying names of all candidates will be released after the deadline to apply has passed.
O’Connell said the last several times vacancies opened on council, a dozen people applied.
Council is required to accept applications to fill the vacancy for14 days after a member resigns, according to O’Connell.
Schweyer, who had served on council since January 2008, resigned on Nov. 5.
The council vice president said the vacant seat was advertised.
O’Connell said City Council plans to interview all the candidates during a committee-of-the-whole meeting on Dec 4.
He said what time that meeting starts will depend on how many people apply for the opening.
He hopes council will vote to select a new member at that meeting and possibly even swear him or her in that night.
If not, the swearing-in will take place at the Dec. 17 City Council meeting, he said.
Because there currently are only six council members, it’s conceivable that three candidates could vote for one candidate and three could vote for another.
If that happens, said O’Connell, council will just keep voting until one member changes his or her mind.
The council vice president noted that if the person who is appointed would like to serve a full four-year term, he or she soon will have to begin preparing for the May 2015 primary and the November 2015 general election.
O’Connell said the person appointed will not be involved in approving the proposed 2015 city budget, because council is expected to take final action on that budget at its Dec. 3 meeting.
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