One of the longest-serving aldermen in Danville’s history is resigning his seat early.
Steve Foster (pictured at right), who has represented Ward 7 (the north end of Danville) for the past 27 years, submitted his resignation letter to Mayor Rickey Williams Jr., who announced it at Tuesday night’s city council meeting. Foster’s resignation takes effect on December 31st.
Foster did not submit petitions last week to the Danville Election Commission to appear on the April 6th ballot. He says he has health risks due to his advanced age and as a cancer survivor, and he says the pandemic would have made it much harder to seek signatures to run. He also says he wishes to spend less time dealing with elected duties, adding that he could still be a part of appointed city boards, but not any more elected positions.
Foster says that he wants to finish writing a book he has been working on, and also wants to be a part of several different study groups he is a member of.
First elected to the council in 1993, Foster is currently serving as chairman of the council’s Public Services Committee, and has previously chaired the city’s Public Works Committee and was Vice-Mayor from 2000 until 2002, making him the only alderman in Danville’s history to serve in all three capacities. He also ran unsuccessfully for mayor against Bob Jones in 1995.
Foster is retired after careers in the aviation industry and business consulting. He has also served on numerous boards in the Danville area.
Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. will appoint a replacement to fill Foster’s seat on the council, who will serve until after the spring 2021 election. Two candidates–Kaylan Huber and Darren York–are running for the Ward 7 seat.
