Awk-Ward 4: Candidate files for ward in which she does not reside
Published 10:19 am Friday, February 15, 2019
By Chris Moore
chris.moore@panews.com
Nederland’s city council race could get complicated after a candidate filed to represent a ward in which she does not reside.
The race for Nederland city council’s ward 4 seat added a third contender as Silvia Root filed to run this week.
However, Root currently resides in ward 2 with a street separating her and ward 4. The city charter does not require a councilmember to live in the ward they represent, but the council passed a resolution in January to have a charter election in May. One of the amendments up for a vote would require a council member to live in their respective wards for at least one year prior to the election.
If Root wins her race and the charter amendment passes, it would be come a legal matter City Manager Chris Duque said Thursday.
The seat for ward 2 is up for election this year and incumbent Billy Neal is running for reelection, and is the only one who has filed for that seat.
Root said she was aware of the charter election and thought she lived in ward 4 until she went to pick up papers to file to run for the seat.
“I lived in ward 4 as long as I have lived in ward 2,” she said.
Root said she didn’t want to run for the ward 2 seat because she thought the potential of four council member changes would be too much.
“I just want to help the city as a whole,” Root said. “If the charter amendment passes and I have to run for ward 2 in three years, I will do that. For now, we’ll let the citizens decide.”
Root currently serves on the Nederland Parks Advisory Board and as the secretary and treasurer on the Nederland Economic Development Corporation.
Root has served nine years on Nederland Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors as well as time on Nederland PTA boards.
“I’ve always had an interest in our city,” Root said in an interview Wednesday. “I would like to go further with it and feel like I can do something with it.”
The ward 4 candidate said she felt like a seat on the council was a natural progression.
Root said the organizations she has served were able to accomplish many feats she of which she is proud.
“I’ve been on the Parks Advisory Board since city council established it,” she said. “Right off the bat, one of the things we had to discuss and decide was the fate of the Doornbos pool. We had to decide if we wanted to rebuild it or demolish it. I’m so proud of the new pool we got out of it. I think it has been a very big asset to our citizens.”
Root said “Nederland may be small, but we think big.” She cited Nederland being landlocked as a challenge and benefit.
“There are still a lot of opportunities,” she said. “For the citizens, we want to provide as many services as we can. I think where we are located, we are easily accessed by a lot of areas without having to deal with the day-to-day struggles of the big towns.”
As all of the other candidates running, Root said she wants Nederland to maintain a small-town feel.
“You want to be able to know your neighbors,” she said. “You want to go out and feel comfortable in your town. Those are values you want to keep. You can get too big sometimes. You don’t want to do that either.”
The ward 4 seat remains the only contested race in the upcoming election. Incumbent Craig Bellaire and David Guillot also filed for the seat in January.
“I will listen to people,” Root said. “If someone has an issue, or something they want to voice, I’m willing to listen and be their voice if needed.”
The deadline to file to run for a council seat in the May election is 5 p.m. Friday.