You Could Be The Next Ridgefield Council Member*

*This is not a reality show advertisement. This is real life.

Ridgefield residents, lend me your eyes! You have a .000408 percent chance to be the city’s newest council member this summer.

I know that seems microscopic, but you have to realize your city is growing. There is always the chance I got my math wrong too. I am a journalist. Math is my mortal enemy.

Ridgefield will add two council seats later this year to comply with state laws that require cities with more than 5,000 residents have seven council members. The council discussed the need to add council members during its council retreat Friday.

Ridgefield’s five-seat council represents around 4,924 residents.

City officials expect to pick up an extra 76 residents by the end of summer, Mayor Ron Onslow said. At that point, two new council members will be appointed. Candidates must have lived in Ridgefield at least one year. That rules me out. 🙁

Ridgefield officials said they were curious what impact, if any, a seven-member council would have on the current group’s rapport.

“We’re so lucky,” Onslow said. “We have a council that is thoughtful. Even when we don’t vote the same there’s no (animosity).”

He anticipated two extra voices would create a different dynamic, but what exactly that would mean was hard to predict.

“It could be boring,” Onslow said. “It could be great.”

Ridgefield, boring? Never!

PS: If you’re wondering how my equation worked: I subtracted Ridgefield’s five council members from its current population and then divided two into 4,919. Of course, once the new council members are added the city will eclipse 5,000 residents, and my numbers will be wrong. Oy!