Sheehan to Run for At-Large Seat in General Election

It's still early – filing for the 2013 General Municipal Election doesn't officially being until August 27 – but already Ward 3 Alderman Diane Sheehan has announced she's running again, only this time as an Alderman At-Large.

Sheehan said she's ready to expand her role, beyond Ward 3, to include issues from around the city that matter to residents outside her French Hill neighborhood.  

"I want to be able to move up in leadership. I will still champion for French Hill, but felt like the timing was right this election cycle," Sheehan said.

She did not intend to go public as a potential At-Large candidate so early, but after requesting the paperwork from the City Clerk's office last week, word began to circulate.

"It actually got back to me that the cat was out of the bag, so I figured I'd better make it official," said Sheehan, who on Saturday launched a campaign page on Facebook.

She said it was "a long, thoughtful process" to get to this decision, one based also on her family's future needs – should she and her husband, Patrick, decide to move within the next four years, she would not want to be limited geographically.

Under the city charter there are six at-large aldermen on the 15-member board, elected to four-year terms. Currently they are: Board President Brian McCarthy, Vice President Lori Wilshire, and Jim Donchess, whose terms expire in 2015, and Mark Cookson, Barbara Pressly and David Deane, whose terms expire in 2013.