Pfeifer not running for re-election

A Village of Belgium trustee who didn’t attend many board meetings due to his job won’t be running for re-election.

Dale Pfeifer filed non-candidacy papers, meeting last Friday’s 5 p.m. deadline.

Pfeifer had survived a petition to resign filed by Trustee Don Gotcher in fall, citing Pfeifer missing 15 of the 17 Village Board meetings in 2017 and eight of the first 10 this year.

The vote was 3-2 to deny the petition. Village President Pete Anzia and trustees Josh Borden and Rose Sauers voted to deny, with trustees Clem Gottsacker and Victor Lecato voting for the petition. Gotcher and Pfeifer were not allowed to vote, given they were the complainant and defendent.

Pfeifer works second shift and said he doesn’t want to take vacation to attend meetings unless he is requested to come.

He was elected to the board in 2015 despite his name not being on the ballot or running a write-in campaign. He was working second shift when his name was on the ballot in 2017 but said he waited until the last second to turn in election papers, hoping someone else would run. Pfeifer was elected again in an unopposed race.

Pfeifer said he brought the issue to former Village President Vickie Boehnlein and Anzia and was told neither had a problem with it as long as he attended his committee meetings.

Pfeifer serves on the Parks, Recreation and Forestry Committee, which had met on Saturdays to accommodate his schedule. When Gotcher became chairman of the committee, he refused to schedule weekend meetings, citing his own scheduling conflicts.

Pfeifer had said if he is still on second shift for the next election he would not run again.

Besides Pfeifer’s seat, the seats of Anzia, Borden and Sauers are up for election in spring.

In the Town of Belgium, the seats held by Chairman Tom Winker, supervisors Bill Janeshek and Tom Bichler, Clerk Ginger Murphy and Treasurer Dayle Parks are up for election.

On the Cedar Grove-Belgium School Board, the seats of Chad Hoopman and Lori Gruell are up for election.

Anyone interested in running has until 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 2, to file nomination papers.

The general election is April 2. If more than two people per seat are running, a primary election to narrow the field would be held on Feb. 19.