After six years on Bowling Green City Council, Sarah Tomashefski has decided to withdraw her name from the running for the Ward 1 seat in the November 2005 election.

It is the memory of running as a student that helped her decide to withdraw her name, she said.

“When I ran two years ago, I did so after unsuccessfully trying to find a student to run,” Tomashefski said. “Seeing two students file petitioners reminded me of why I ran in the first place.”

Before she pulled her name from the running, she was one of three individuals up for the democratic ticket in November. In her absence she leaves the race to Nathan Nickens, University senior, and Gordy Heminger, a University alumnae who currently works in the Office of Campus Involvement.

Whoever wins the democratic nomination will run against student Ashley Harlett, who is the only Republican running.

“Tomashefski’s withdrawal from the race and her acknowledgment that a student needs to be on council puts us in a stronger position to elect a student to begin the work of fighting for us at city council,” Nickens said.

The decision against running was a difficult one, Tomashefski said. She is currently in law school at Ohio Northern and it will make her schedule easier, she said.

“It was a very difficult decision to make,” Tomashefski said. “The city of Bowling Green and BGSU are very important to me.”

Tomashefski joined the council as a University sophomore in 1999. She said it was an exciting and challenging position.

“Dealing with issues that affect students is only a relatively small, but important, portion of what you do on city council,” Tomashefski said. “I received a quick education on things like zoning variances, which I knew nothing about when I first got on council.”

Tomashefski works closely with Ward 2 Councilman Mike Zickar. He believes she will be missed on the council.

“I think Sarah did a wonderful job on council,” Zickar said. “I respect her decision. I knew it was a challenge for her to juggle all these things [law school] and the responsibilities she had. I think she made a good decision.”

There is no doubt the council will be exciting in the upcoming term, Tomashefski said. She hopes another student will be able to enjoy the privilege.

“At the age of 20 I was entrusted to represent others’ interests in government,” Tomashefski said. “That people have that kind of faith in you is very rewarding in and of itself.”