Zurcher Leaving City Council?

Randy Zurcher, one of the more controversial members of the Fayetteville City Council, may be leaving his post well before his term is completed.

Zurcher won a Nov. 27, 2000, runoff for Ward 2, Position 2, his second time to win a spot on the city council. But a love interest in California — a woman, not the state — is apparently going to leave his seat vacant as soon as he can be transferred by his employer, the Sierra Club.

Zurcher was in California when he missed the Jan. 8 city council agenda meeting and the Jan. 15 council meeting. There was some speculation that he had already been transferred, but officials from the Sierra Club headquarters in San Francisco would not comment.

If Zurcher leaves the council, a special election must be held within 60 days of the official resignation to elect someone to finish out the term. Candidates must reside in the vacated seat’s district by the day of the resignation. Zurcher’s term has just under three years remaining on his four-year term.

The seat is perhaps more important than ever given the council’s current divisiveness.

Possible successors include the two people Zurcher beat in the previous election — Kyle Cook and Butch Green. Cook, whom Zurcher defeated in a run-off, is considered to have green party views much like Zurcher’s. Green is considered more of a pro-business candidate. He is a licensed engineer. Another possible candidate is Bob Estes, a lawyer and head of the Fayetteville Planning Commission.