Key West Reporter

City of Marathon recently issued the following announcement.

The Marathon City Council has narrowed its choice to fill the vacancy on the dais to two candidates: Jodie “Lynny Thompson” Del Gaizo or Robyn Still. The sitting Council -- Mayor John Bartus, Vice Mayor Dan Zieg, and Councilmen Luis Gonzalez and Steve Cook -- will meet again on Monday, January 31 at noon to decide between Del Gaizo and Still.  

The field of 14 applicants was narrowed to the two candidates, and both have equal support resulting in a 2-2 tie after three rounds of voting. It requires a majority vote to seat the Council member who will replace Trevor Wofsey who resigned on January 4. The Council thanked every applicant who submitted his or her name as a potential replacement. 

“I want to thank each and everyone of you for applying,” said Mayor John Bartus. “If you don’t make it today, I urge you to give strong consideration to running in the fall. We need people who care about our community and are willing to serve.”

Del Gaizo campaigned in the previous election season that saw Gonzalez re-elected as well as Wofsey seated after the November 2, 2021 election; Del Gaizo came in third place with 648 votes. Still is a retired law enforcement officer and said she planned to run in the 2022 election before this opportunity presented itself. Both women emphasized their business backgrounds and commitment to the community. 

The Marathon City Council elected to delay the nomination until Monday, January 31 after each member described his position as “entrenched” with Zieg and Gonzalez supporting Del Gaizo and Bartus and Cook supporting Still. Marathon City Attorney Steve Williams told the council it is in keeping with the City’s charter to decide the nomination tie with chance – either a coin toss or drawing lots – if no other consensus is reached. 

“Our Charter is vague about the nomination method, but not about the deadline. The new Council person must be nominated and sworn in by February 4 and will serve until the next election in 2022,” Williams said. 

Two applicants for the Council seat withdrew their names from consideration before the vote — Mike Aranda and Jerry Rojas. The Council rejected Kevin Macaulay’s application because it arrived after the submission deadline. Of the remaining candidates, seven came to City Hall to make a brief speech: Wendy Bonilla, Eric Buhyoff, Del Gaizo, former Councilmen Jeff Pinkus and Mark Senmartin, Still and Richard Tamborrino. 

The Marathon City Council will meet on Monday, January 31 at noon at City Hall. The meeting is open to the public.

Original source can be found here.