NEW BERLIN – Village of New Berlin Mayor Wade Schrag retracted his reelection bid Wednesday, citing health-related issues.
Ambulance crews were called to the mayor’s home Friday night after his wife called 911 and reported a medical emergency.
“As many of you may have heard already, I recently had a rather dramatic event occur with my health, which had a very emotional impact on my family. After much consideration, I have come to realize that I need to put my health and my family first. In an effort to allow myself to recover, and to be able to spend more quality time with my family, I am officially withdrawing myself from the re-election campaign,” said Schrag in an announcement yesterday.
Schrag is in his first two-year term as mayor and was in the midst of a write-in campaign for another term.
Schrag completed his petition by the deadline Feb. 9, but a review by the village clerk found unregistered voters had signed it, making their names ineligible. As a result, Schrag’s name, nor any other, will not appear on the March 15 ballot.
Trustee Terry Potter completed his petition to run for his sixth term on the village board, but later decided to mount his own write-in campaign for mayor.
Schrag has served as mayor since 2009, and was a village board member for 10 years before, the last two as deputy mayor.
“I sincerely appreciate everyone’s support and understanding during this difficult time. It has been a true honor to serve this great community as mayor for the past two years. I wish the best for the village and for the new administration and pledge my continued support,” Schrag said.
Schrag’s name won’t appear on the ballot next Tuesday, but unaware voters might still write-in his name.
In the event Schrag were to win the election, he may have to technically resign the position or refuse to take the oath of office, which could result in the board determining an appointment – although the exact procedure is unclear.
The Village of New Berlin Clerk’s Office and the Chenango County Board of Elections both refused to answer questions regarding the details of such an occurrence, with each claiming the other was responsible for conveying public information regarding election laws.
Potter, who’s known Schrag since childhood, said he was surprised and concerned after learning of mayor’s decision.
“I think he’s doing the right thing. As I’ve stated before, we’re friends and one of the reasons we’ve remained friends through the years is family comes first,” said Potter.
Potter and fellow Trustee Michael Conroe are the only two candidates appearing on the ballot running for the two open board seats. Voters will have to write-in Potter for mayor if they wish their votes to be counted toward the mayoral election. Marking his name under the printed trustee position is not the same as voting for him as mayor.
Potter has been on the board for 10 years and for that entire time, he’s held the position of youth commissioner. He is an active committee member for Dollars for Scholars, the Spirit of Christmas and the finance committee at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church.
Votes can be cast at the New Berlin Village Office on South Main Street from noon to 9 p.m. on March 15. The day before the election, March 14, the village will hold a public budget hearing at 6:30 p.m. at the village’s office for its proposed budget, which calls for no increase in local taxes, reported Schrag.