Parachute, Silt and New Castle have so far received 14 nomination petitions to town council seats.

PARACHUTE

Current council member Tom Rugaard is running for mayor of Parachute, while current incumbents Artemio Baltazar and Rory Birdsey are running for reelection as council members.

Meanwhile, first-year candidates Chris Jackson and Juanita Williams are vying for first terms on the Parachute council. Also, there is still a vacant seat with currently no nomination petitions.

Town Manager Travis Elliot said if the remaining seat remains vacant, election candidates can decide during a Feb. 17 Town Council meeting who gets to represent the town in the three four-year terms and two two-year terms.

If they can’t decide, the election will still take place as planned. Candidates who receive the top three number of votes will be elected to four-year terms, while the bottom two will be elected to two-year terms.

After the election, the new council will appoint someone to fill the final open seat. The appointee must be a Parachute resident who’s lived in the town for at least one year.

SILT

Though the mandatory amount of signatures needed to legally run have yet to be verified, Silt has so far received five nomination petitions for this year’s election.

Current Mayor Keith Richel is again running for mayor, while incumbents Derek Hanrahan, Samuel Flores and Jerry Seifert are running to retain their seats.

Newcomer Chris Classen is also running for his first full four-year term on the Board of Trustees.

NEW CASTLE

Current Mayor Art Riddile is running again for mayor, while newcomer Caitlin Carey is vying for her first four-year term on New Castle Town Council. Meanwhile, incumbents Brandy Copeland and Bruce Leland have also submitted petitions to retain their seats.

Reporter Ray K. Erku can be reached at 612-423-5273 or rerku@postindependent.com.