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Statewide Blog
Elizabeth Baier

Prolonged election cycle continues for Rochester voters

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The city of Rochester may be a little closer to having a city council president.

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Rochester City Councilman Michael Wojcik ended his campaign for the position this week, saying it was in the best interests of the community.

Wojcik and his opponent, interim City Council President Randy Staver, faced off in a primary election earlier this month, but neither obtained enough votes to win the seat.

"I am ending my campaign for City Council President to focus all of my energies towards working for Rochester," Wojcik said in a statement. "Continuing the campaign only serves to create divisiveness and reduce the availability of Randy Staver and I to work at this critical time on behalf of Rochester for over a month."

But Wojcik's departure from the race doesn't automatically mean Staver will remain in the seat. State law says it's too late for Wojcik to remove his name from the ballot so the general election set for May 7 must go ahead as scheduled.

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City Clerk Judy Scherr told the Rochester Post-Bulletin Staver will still need votes to win over any possible write-in candidates.

"Elections have been won and lost because of write-in candidates," Scherr told the Rochester newspaper. "So it's up to the people to decide."

Wojcik and Staver were vying to fill the seat of Dennis Hanson, who won re-election in November, even though he had been dead for four months. Hanson died of a brain aneurysm in June but state law prohibited his name from being taken off the ballot.

(Photos courtesy of the City of Rochester)