Wanamaker, 85, is the second Kettering councilman to resign this year as District 1 representative Rob Scott stepped down in January. The city’s charter mandates both slots remain vacant until after the November election, officials said.
Wanamaker was in his fifth term, having been elected in 2003 after retiring from his job with Kettering, where he had been employed since 1959, three years after the city incorporated.
“It’s been an honor and a pleasure to serve the city of Kettering and this council for the past 18 years,” he said.
“This council and staff are good stewards of the city’s facilities, infrastructure, services and money,” Wanamaker added. “This council and staff work tirelessly to provide the best for its citizens and I am proud to have been a part of it.”
Four-term Mayor Don Patterson told Wanamaker that council has relied heavily on his decades of guidance and experience.
“I remember with you being with the street department, if there was ever a go-to person, we always went to you and council — when we had issues or improvements with the street department — anything involving that, you were able to dumb it down for us so we understood what was going on,” Patterson said.
Wanamaker’s tenure with Kettering has been “amazing,” longtime District 4 Councilman Bruce Duke said.
“When I came on council in 1986, Joe Wanamaker had 26 years of experience with this community in the streets department,” Duke said.
Wanamaker was last re-elected in 2019, according to the Montgomery County Board of Elections. His term was set to expire in December 2023, records show.
Wanamaker earned his Bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Dayton.
His departure follows Scott resigning to accept an appointment as clerk of Kettering Municipal Court.
Both Wanamaker’s seat and the one Scott held for a decade will be on the ballot in November, going unfilled until later that month, Kettering and Montgomery County board of elections officials have said.
A 2016 city charter change states that if a vacancy occurs, “the election of a successor shall take place at the next election occurring within the city taking place more than one hundred twenty (120) days after the vacancy occurred.”
Prior to the 2016 ballot issue, council appointed someone to fill vacancies, according to the board of elections.
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