There is still time to get an absentee ballot to vote in Tuesday's election for Gaithersburg mayor and City Council.
Gaithersburg allows "no excuse" absentee voting, which means registered voters may request an absentee ballot without explanation. Pick up an absentee ballot application between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays through Tuesday at City Hall, 31 S. Summit Ave. return it to City Hall by 8 p.m. Tuesday.
City residents registered to vote in Montgomery County are automatically registered to vote in the city election.
Voters will pick a mayor and two city council members Tuesday.
Mayor Sidney A. Katz, 59, who has served the city for 28 years and was appointed mayor in 1998, is seeking re-election and touting his experience. Richard Koch, 55, a Kentlands resident and regional real estate developer, has promised to be a more demanding mayor who will bring economic development.
Three men, including two incumbents, are vying for City Council. Henry F. Marraffa Jr., 71, who has served on the council for 15 years, and 56-year-old Michael A. Sesma, finishing his first term, are being challenged by Tom Rowse, 39, a businessman who chairs the city's Olde Towne Advisory Committee.
The mayor and council positions are four-year terms.
A candidate must get 40 percent of the votes cast to win an election; in 2005, that meant 1,071 votes.
Gaithersburg has historically had low voter turnout in city elections. For example, 2,678 of the city's 27,725 registered voters cast votes in city elections in 2005 — less than 10 percent — and city records show that traditionally an average of 10 to 12 percent eligible voters cast ballots in Gaithersburg elections. The city had its highest voter turnout in 2007, when seven candidates ran for three council seats. With 3,562 ballots cast, a record 14.6 percent of the city's registered voters made their way to the polls to elect Council Members Cathy Drzyzgula, Jud Ashman and Ryan Spiegel.
To learn more about the candidates, and hear their video statements, visit www.gazette.net/gaithersburg
election09.
