Two seats will be vacated on Oshkosh Common Council

Of the four seats up for re-election on the Oshkosh Common Council next spring, two will be vacated by the councilors presently occupying them. At last evening's Common Council meeting, Mayor William Castle announced that, inasmuch as he believes in term limits, he would not be seeking re-election to his post. Two weeks earlier, councilor Shirley Brabender Mattox made a similar announcement, basically citing the same reason.

Two other seats - currently occupied by Bryan Bain and Meredith Scheuermann - will be up for grabs as well, but both councilors will more than likely seek re-election. Still, with Castle and Mattox "retiring," two new people on the council are all but guaranteed.

This Friday, interested parties can begin circulating their nomination papers. Let's hope we get some decent candidates who truly have the best interests of the city at heart and not candidates merely interested in beefing up their resume or seeking a position so they can say "no" at every turn just for the sake of saying "no."

Meanwhile, even though they have a few more months of service in front of them, I want to be one of the first to publicly thank Shirley and Bill for their years of service. I have not always agreed with their votes. In fact, many was the time I did not. But still, they have worked tirelessly for this community; did what they, at least, believed was best for Oshkosh; and in the process often were shown little to no thanks from some people in the community who don't know how to be critical of one's job performance without being nasty. That is unfortunate, but I think I speak for many when I say to both Shirley and Bill - "Thank you!"