Rifle is gearing up for City Council elections this fall with four seats up for voters to fill.

Mayor Randy Winkler, who is term-limited, will be stepping down as mayor after eight years on council. Mayor Pro-tem Barbara Clifton’s seat is up after four years, and both Dana Wood and Theresa Hamilton’s seats are up after just two years.

Clifton and Hamilton said they would seek re-election; Wood said Sunday that she would not seek re-election.

“I am not able to dedicate the time and energy that this position demands in order to best represent my constituents and my community,” Wood said. “I would like to run for public office again in the future, but not in 2017.”

2015 was an unusual year for Rifle council elections. The death of one council member and the move of another created a total of five vacated seats. Rifle City Council elections are held every odd year and typically see either three or four seats up for re-election depending on the year.

However, because two seats were prematurely vacated leading up to the 2015 election, it was determined that three of the five seats up for re-election would be to four-year terms with the other two serving just two years. This allowed the city to ensure that elections would be held on odd years and that the total number of seats up would stay at three and four every other year.

In 2015, Annick Pruett, Joe Elliot, Ed Green, Hamilton and Wood were all elected. Because Pruett, Elliot and Green received the most votes, they were elected to four-year terms, while Hamilton and Wood were elected to two-year terms, completing the vacated seats’ terms.

Rifle City Council members are term-limited to serve two four-year terms consecutively.

According to the Rifle Charter, council members who serve at least one half of a term will be considered to have served a full term in office so they will only be permitted to serve one more term.

Municipal elections will be held Sept. 12, and the four candidates receiving the most votes will be elected for four-year terms until September 2021.

If you are interested in being a candidate, information is available on the city’s website at http://www.rifleco.org or you can contact City Clerk Kristy Christensen at 970-665-6405. Nomination petitions can be circulated starting Tuesday, June 13.

Deadline for nomination is July 3, and by July 7 Rifle residents will know their candidates, according to Christensen.