Who Will Be Easton's Next City Councilman?

Easton City Councilman Mike Fleck's last day in office is July 9, and two city residents have applied to take his place.

West Ward residents Stephen K. White and Jim Edinger are the candidates the rest of council will have to choose from to replace Fleck, city Clerk Tom Hess said Friday morning.

Fleck has said he is stepping down to move to Allentown, in order to devote more time to his family and his political consulting business.

Initially, Fleck had planned to serve the rest of his term, allowing the winner of this November's council election to take over the seat in January 2014.

But his early departure means council will have to appoint a replacement to fill out the rest of his term.

Edinger is the chairman of Easton's Zoning Hearing Board. White owns Delaware River Books on Second Street, and is the former editor of the West Word newspaper.

Mayor Sal Panto has said that typically, council hasn't chosen people who are already running for office.

That would seem to hurt Edinger's chances, as he's the Democratic candidate running for Fleck's seat in November. He faces Republican Kim Yedlosky.