Sterling Accepting Applications to Fill Ward 2 City Council Vacancy

The City of Sterling is accepting applications to fill a Ward 2 city council vacancy, a procedural step that could alter representation for neighborhoods bounded by Chestnut Street and the municipal edges. Applications and a ward map are available on the City’s website under City Council, by request to the City Clerk’s office, by phone, or by email to the contact listed in the announcement.

“The City of Sterling is accepting applications for a Council Member Ward 2 vacancy,” the announcement states. It specifies that “Ward 2 is generally bounded by Chestnut St (Highway 6) on the South, 5th and 6th streets on the West, and municipal boundaries to the North and East.” Residents who live inside those boundaries will be directly affected by who fills the seat and how the council votes on local ordinances, budgets, and planning decisions.

Prospective candidates must submit a completed application and a copy of their resume; the announcement notes that “Submissions must include the application and a copy of your resume.” Applications received after 5:00 p.m. on March 4, 2026, “will not be considered,” the release warns. The city directs residents to obtain application packets from the City Clerk’s office at City Hall, 421 North 4th Street, by calling 970-522-9700 to request a mailed application, or by emailing hmalakowski at sterlingcolo dot com for an electronic copy.

The release also references statutory eligibility: “Any person appointed to fill a vacancy for a term in an elective office shall have the qualifications required of persons to be regularly elected. The candidate must meet the following criteria:” The announcement does not include the subsequent list of criteria in the excerpt provided, leaving residency, voter-registration, age, and other statutory requirements unspecified in the public notice. The city did not include information in the release about whether the appointment will be made by council vote, whether there will be interviews or a public forum, or whether the appointee will serve the remainder of an unexpired term or a full term.

For Ward 2 residents, the vacancy presents a near-term opportunity to influence council composition without an election. Appointed members can affect local policy decisions, committee assignments, and the balance of votes on issues ranging from infrastructure spending to annexation and zoning. Given the missing details in the announcement, transparency about selection criteria, the appointment timeline, and whether candidate materials will be public will be important for civic trust.

What happens next: interested residents should obtain the official application packet from the City Clerk’s office or via the city website under City Council, prepare the required application and resume, and make sure materials are received by 5:00 p.m. on March 4, 2026. The council’s method and schedule for choosing an appointee remain unspecified in the release.