Chillicothe Councilwoman Deidra Nickerson Resigning

Chillicothe Councilwoman Deidra Nickerson has resigned her Third Ward seat. She has also been the chair of the Parks & Recreation / Tourism committee.

An email from Council President Kevin Shoemaker included her resignation letter from Monday. In it, she wrote:

“It has been my pleasure serving Chillicothe as 3rd Ward representative, however, please accept my resignation effective immediately. I feel like it’s a good time to step down and allow somebody else to represent.

“As politics have become so contentious, my peace of mind has become my priority.

“Thank you for all you do for the city and the kindness you’ve shown me.”

Nickerson lost her mother in November, and has missed several council sessions since then.

President Shoemaker wrote that “Deidra has always been a voice of reason while serving on council. She will be missed, but I wish her the best.”

Council seems to have a trend of loosing a member about once a year to resignation. Nickerson herself was assigned the committee chair after Allison Henderson resigned and was replaced by Julie Preston, who returned to council after loosing her bid to be mayor.

(Incidentally, I recently asked Preston if she was considering running for mayor again, with Luke Feeney announcing he is running for Municipal Court Judge after his term is up. She basically said that once is enough for a contentious campaign.)

The council member’s political party has the right to choose a replacement. Ross County Democratic Party chair Dona Meyer says their timeline is “no sooner than five days from resignation and 45 days after, I believe.” She wrote that they have not scheduled a meeting to discuss that yet.

The candidate must live in the city ward and, will fill out the term that ends at the end of the year.

Learn more about council on the city’s website.

Find the article on the Scioto Post.

Kevin Coleman covers local government and culture for the Scioto Post and iHeart Media Southern Ohio. For stories or questions, contact Kevin Coleman or the iHeart Southern Ohio Newsroom.