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Windsor Town Councilman Walter Bernacki announced at the Tuesday, Feb. 13, Town Council meeting that he will not be seeking reelection this fall.

“I just wanted to make an announcement that this will be my last term as of Dec. 31 this year,” he said. “I have decided not to seek reelection.”

He conveyed his hope that his successor, whomever that may be, would hear about his announcement and begin the process of running for his seat.

“Anyone interested in a Town Council position needs to get their feet moving, because they’ll have to get to the Board of Elections, get an application in and start getting some signatures,” he said.

Reflecting on his time of service on the council, he said, “It’s been a pleasure serving for the town, which when I’m finished will have been eight years, two terms, and I’ve been honored to do that and help this town, set it up for some success and to be a better place to live.”

He said that if any of his fellow council members had anyone in mind or knew any friends or individuals in the town that they thought would be a suitable replacement for him to help move the town forward, “please tell them to get their feet moving and get their information in.”

In a Wednesday, Feb. 14, phone interview, Bernacki offered a two-part insight into what prompted him to definitively conclude his time of service on the council at the end of this calendar year.

“My parents are getting elderly, and they live nearby, so I’m finding that, like a lot of people today, (I) have (to) cut back on some other things to take care of family,” he said. “Being a Christian and a Biblical guy, even in the Bible it mentions to take care of mothers, your family, respect them, and so that was part of the decision.

“The other part of it was, probably within the next four years or a little sooner, I’m set to retire, and I didn’t want to get into another term and then all of a sudden have to leave during the middle of the term or any part of that term,” he said. “I don’t think that’s fair to the citizens, and it would have potentially put the council one person down in some potentially critical decisions at the time that may come up and things of that nature.”  

He said he is one of those people that believes in succession setting up for success.

“I think it’s more conducive to try to get a new town councilperson in, let them sit for that full term, and if they were liking it and enjoying that service, then they can do what I did — go for another term, and then that way they’ve got some experience, they’ve got a good vibe for what the town members and community wants and can help continue to advance, maybe, what I set up or started,” he said.