Ohio University rising senior Andrew Looker has withdrawn has candidacy for mayor of Athens, leaving Patterson as the only candidate.
Athens City Councilman Steve Patterson, D-At Large, might end up running unopposed for mayor of Athens in the approaching November election.
Andrew Looker, who in the fall will be a senior at Ohio University studying communication, officially withdrew his name from the ballot.
Looker announced in December that he would be running on the Republican ticket, but withdrew his candidacy last Thursday.
“I’ve taken time to reflect on the whole situation, and I’ve decided that finishing school is first priority,” Looker said in an email to The Post.
With his senior year at OU coming up, Looker said he wanted to focus on finishing his education and therefore withdrew from the race.
“He came into the office, filled out a piece of paper, (and) told us he wanted to withdraw,” Olga Thomas, a clerk at the Athens County Board of Elections, said.
Thomas said during her eight years at the Board of Elections, candidate withdrawals have been relatively uncommon.
“Since I’ve been here we’ve only had about three people withdraw,” she said.
Penny Brooks, deputy director at the Board of Elections, said withdrawals are more common in city races, like mayor or city council.
“We usually don’t have a lot,” she said. “Every once in a while we do. Usually people will make up their mind (before the primaries) when they want to do it.”
Patterson said the last and only time he had any contact with Looker was during the open forum between the two candidates held in the Frontroom in Baker University Center in April.
“I was surprised to hear that he wasn’t running or that he withdrew his candidacy,” he said. “I have not spoken to him yet.”
Patterson added that although he took Looker’s candidacy seriously, his withdrawal will not have any impact on Patterson’s campaign strategy.
“I have been campaigning hard and will continue campaigning hard even though I am currently running unopposed,” he said. “It doesn’t change my campaign strategy at all.”
Patterson said he will begin campaigning door-to-door within the next few weeks in order to gauge support and listen to citizens’ complaints.
“My belief is that the best way to engage the citizens of Athens is to come to them and meet them in their owns places,” he said. “Its the right thing to do.”
Patterson, who said he takes “local city politics very seriously,” said he had been looking forward to squaring up with Looker during the October open forum organized by the Athens County League of Women Voters.
“In both of my (city council) campaigns there was a large field of candidates running,” he said. "With Andrew deciding to run, … I saw him as a serious contender.”
But even with Looker out of the running, Patterson might still end up with a contender in the race. Citizens have until Aug. 24 to file as a write-in candidate.
“Anything is possible. I’m a believer in that,” he said. “It’s all part of the political process. If there is a write-in I’ll definitely reach out with them and meet with them, but my plan is just to stick with what I’ve been doing.”
Though he relinquished his current bid for mayor, Looker said politics might lie in his future.
“While political office is a future goal, I have no plans to pursue any other political offices at this time,” Looker said.
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