David George
JAMESTOWN – A Jamestown resident who was making plans to run for mayor of Jamestown says he’s withdrawing from the race.
Retired JCC professor David George informed WRFA of his decision on Wednesday afternoon, saying he’s been unable to find the support he needs to get his name on the ballet.
“I’m withdrawing from the race for mayor,” George said in a voice message to WRFA. “I’ve had a pretty hard time collecting signatures and the support system is not there. So I’m not submitting my nomination.”
George had not been endorsed by any of the established political parties. As a result, he was trying to start his own independent political party, the Patriots Party, so he could get his name on the November ballot. A total of 300 signatures from registered voters in Jamestown needed to be collected by Aug. 19 and submitted to the county Board of Elections in order to qualify George as a candidate on the ballot.
Current Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi, a Democrat, has already announced his intention to run for a fifth consecutive term.
Teresi was first elected in 1999 when he defeated then-mayor Richard Kimball. 2003 saw a rematch between the two candidates, with Teresi again coming out on top. In 2007 he defeated Republican challenger Shirley Sanfilippo and in 2011 he ran unopposed.
No other candidate has come forward to challenge Teresi, other than George, in the 2015 race.
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