Bolender Will Not Seek Re-Election

Oak Creek Mayor Dick Bolender confirmed this afternoon that he will not run for re-election this spring.

"I've been mayor for three terms and served one year as alderman. Ten years in public service is enough," he said. "I had a very good time. I'm very proud of the fact that the people elected me three times. I'm very humbled by that. I can't thank them enough."

Bolender said it was a tough decision for him to make because "there's still so much to do." For one, the redevelopment of the Delphi site has been one of his main focuses over the last year and is .

However, he also said it won't be hard for him to watch the city's proceedings from a distance because he's confident that residents will elect a mayor who will keep Oak Creek moving forward. He also has things he wants to accomplish in his personal life, which will be easier to do if he doesn't have any obligations as mayor.

"I have absolutely no problem walking away from this," Bolender said. "There's a time to move on.

"The city of Oak Creek has a great future. We can't be afraid of it. We've got to keep moving forward."

The news was first reported by MyCommunityNOW.

So far, Alderman Steve Scaffidi is the only person to have publicly announced his intentions to run for the seat. Scaffidi said he would run regardless of Bolender's decision.

Scaffidi praised Bolender in a phone interview today, noting his work in bringing in new development that residents wanted, getting Bucyrus (now Caterpillar) to move its corporate offices to Oak Creek and moving forward on the Delphi redevelopment project.

"He has a lot of significant achievements," Scaffidi said.

The general election will be held on April 3, 2012. Candidates have until Jan. 3 to file paperwork to get on the ballot.