City Council vacancy is now official

As of today, Charles Slert no longer serves on the Crescent City Council.

He announced his resignation Dec. 5, just days after a petition in favor of recalling him was turned in to City Clerk Robin Patch.

While you can’t recall the resigned, the petition signatures were counted: 351 were valid, 84 shy of the requisite 435 needed to put a measure on the ballot.

Most invalid signatures came from people who are not registered voters, Patch said. Others came from duplicate signers or county residents.

Slert told the Triplicate in December his resignation had nothing to do with the recall attempt, the last of three failed efforts championed by Councilwoman Donna Westfall.

He cited economic troubles, health problems in his family and plans to relocate as the reasons behind his 11-month-early departure from the council.

Patch estimated it took her 16 hours to check out the petition signatures, work she completed because the deadline for verification fell a week before Slert’s resignation took effect, and “just in the interest of doing the right thing,” she said.  

A petition to recall Councilwoman Kelly Schellong is currently circulating. Proponents have until Jan. 27 to submit 435 signatures to the City Clerk’s Office.

The city is now accepting applications for the position vacated by Slert, to be filled by an appointee until the general election in November. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. Monday. More information is available at the City Clerk’s Office, 377 J Street.

Reach Emily Jo Cureton at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it