Angela Woods stepping down from McCandless council

Applications are being taken from McCandless residents who are registered Republicans and live in Ward 5 for an open seat on town council.

First-term councilwoman Angela Woods announced that she will be resigning her seat at the end of September because she is moving out of the municipality. Woods’ term runs through 2023.

A McCandless ordinance requires that when vacancies occur on council, “the remaining members of Council shall select by majority vote and appoint a qualified replacement from the same political party.”

If the seat is not filled within 45 days of being vacated, a council member or any 10 registered voters can petition the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas to fill the seat with a qualified replacement from the same political party.”

Council has until Nov. 14 to select a replacement for Woods.

There are seven representatives on council who are elected by ward for four-year terms. The positions are unpaid.

Ward 5 is located in the center of the municipality.

Woods was elected in November 2019 even though she lost the GOP nomination in that year’s primary to Joseph Beierle.

No Democrats ran in the primary for their party’s bid to replace former Ward 5 councilman Greg Walkauskas, who did not seek reelection.

But Woods received 111 write-in votes from Democrats — enough to get on the ballot and defeat Beierle in the 2019 November general election with 60.62 percent of the votes cast.

In most municipal and school board races, only 10 write-in votes are needed to get on the ballot.

To be considered for the Ward 5 seat, fill out the online application and email it along with a resume and a cover letter to: administration@townofmccandless.org.

The materials also can be sent by mail or dropped off at Town of McCandless, 9955 Grubbs Road, Wexford, PA 15090.

The deadline to apply is Tuesday, Sept. 21 at 5 p.m.