ABERDEEN — The Aberdeen City Council will have to elect a new member now that certified November election results show a dead candidate won a council seat.
John Erak was elected five months after he died. The 81-year-old former state representative died in June after the filing period closed and his name could not be removed from ballots.
Challenger Alan Richrod, who lost to Erak, had been appointed to Erak’s seat until the November election.
Aberdeen City Attorney Eric Nelson says the position held by Richrod becomes vacant immediately, and the city council will have to pick a candidate to fill the position until the next election in 2015.
Mayor Bill Simpson encourages local residents to apply.
