WINTHROP — The Winthrop Town Council seat occupied by Rita Moran until her death last week due to an unspecified illness is expected to remain vacant until an election in mid-June.
Rita Moran, photographed in 2008, was serving her second term on the Winthrop Town Council when she died last Monday. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal file
Winthrop Town Manager Jeffrey Kobrock said Monday that councilors next month are expected to set June 14 as the date of the election.
Kobrock also said nomination papers are to be available beginning April 5.
Kobrock declined to comment on Moran’s death or her time on the Town Council.
Moran was elected to the Winthrop Town Council in 2017 and reelected to a three-year term in 2019. Her second term would have ended in November.
The councilor elected in June is expected to serve until the November election, when residents are to elect a councilor to a three-year term.
Moran’s death marked the third time in recent years Winthrop has dealt with the loss of a sitting town councilor. Councilor Ken Buck Sr. died in 2016 and Councilor David Bubier in 2017. In each case, the councilor’s spouse filled the seat temporarily.
In addition to serving on the Winthrop Town Council, Moran was the longtime chairperson of the Kennebec County Democratic Committee. She was also a co-owner for about 20 years of Apple Valley Books, a store at 121 Main St. in Winthrop.
Moran also participated in local theater and library organizations, and helped create a farmers’ market in Winthrop.
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