New Castle Town Board Hopeful to End Candidacy
A member of the Unite New Castle slate that is also challenging the Democratic-endorsed ticket in next month’s primary abruptly announced Tuesday morning that she will be withdrawing from the race.
Jenni Louis-Jeune, who was competing for the seat carrying a two-year unexpired term, said in a Facebook post that her husband has been offered a job that professionally and as a family could not be passed up.
“This decision has put me in a difficult situation that I did not see coming when I announced my candidacy in March,” Louis-Jeune said in her post. “Though we will not be relocating until later in the summer, I feel compelled to disclose this development in the interest of transparency and full disclosure prior to the June 22 primary.”
When she announced her candidacy earlier this year, Louis-Jeune said she had every intention of living in New Castle for many years to come. She had hopes of helping to unite the community in the years ahead; however, she will continue to give her running mates her full support until her relocation.
“My biggest regret is that I will not be able to play a role in the process and enjoy the results of the restoration of our community,” Louis-Jeune said.
The Unite New Castle ticket that is challenging the New Castle Democratic Committee’s candidates in the primary, also includes candidate for supervisor and Councilwoman Lisa Katz and Andrea Sanseverino-Galan and Tara McAdam Kassal, both running for the two Town Board seats carrying full four-year terms.
Louis-Jeune will still appear on the ballot for the June 22 primary since the Democratic petitions were submitted in late March, Katz said. For the independent Unite New Castle line, supervisor candidate Lisa Katz said that the ticket will be looking to replace her, but she was uncertain as of Tuesday when that needed to be done.
Katz said that it’s disappointing that Louis-Jeune won’t be part of the ticket but she and her running mates plan to push forward with the campaign fighting to restore civility in town government and exploring more appropriate options to the proposed Form Based Code.
“We won’t have the opportunity to serve with her, but we’re going to continue to seek her guidance through the campaign,” Katz said. “She’s a passionate advocate for our community and it would have been great to have her on the slate but we’ll find someone just as passionate and dedicated to this town.”
The New Castle Democratic Committee earlier this year endorsed Holly McCall for supervisor and current Councilwoman Lori Morton, Michael Weinberg and Jennifer Bounds for the council seats. Bounds was facing Louis-Jeune for the two-year seat.
The endorsed ticket will also be on an independent line in November.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
