City Councilor Peter J. Miller Jr. resigned Friday after serving more than eight years representing the residents of Ward 3.
Miller said this morning that he resigned, effective today, to further his education and for the opportunity “to help my wife putting the kids to bed every night.”
Miller has two children, a 2 1/2 old and 1 1/2 old, to raise, while traveling to Boston for his job as the chief of staff to state Sen. Michael R. Knapik (R-Westfield).
Miller said he plans to complete the Public Administration Masters Degree program at Westfield University.
“It’s time to think about positioning myself for the future, either in governmental service or with a nonprofit organization,” he said.
“I can’t find the time to fit all of it into my life, I don’t think I can continue to represent the residents of Ward 3 the way they deserve to be represented,” he said. “It will be good to have someone new to serve those residents, someone with different ideas.”
Miller was not opposed in the last municipal election. Typically, in a contested race, the candidate with the next highest ballot count assumes the post if the winner resigns or is unable to continue to serve through the end of that term in office.
“There is no replacement on deck,” Miller said.
The Ward 3 seat will be filled through an appointment process, with the remaining 12 members of the City Council selecting a registered voter residing in that ward to complete Miller’s term, about 20 months, in office.
That appointment process is further complicated by the fact that ward and precinct lines were changed in January as a result of the 2010 federal census, meaning some residents who are now part of the ward, but were not eligible Ward 3 voters at the time of the election. The question the council has to determine is if those “new” Ward 3 residents are eligible for appointment.
James E. Brown Jr., chairman of the councils’ Legislative & Ordinance Committee, said the City Charter gives the council the authority to appoint a Ward 3 resident to complete Miller’s term.
“The way I read the ordinance is that the only requirement is that the individual has to be a registered voter in that ward,” Brown said this morning. “The ward was established as of Jan. 1, 2012 and accepted by the state.”
Brown said that Miller’s resignation will affect the council’s deliberation process.
“It’s a huge loss,” Brown said. “P.J. was always able to see the middle ground (on contentious issues) and offer it to us in the chamber. I appreciated that.
“As a fellow downtown councilor, I have relied on him over the past 2 1/2 years. He will be missed,” Brown said.
