Laurel Council To Name New Member Tonight

The Laurel City Council is set tonight to announce who will fill a vacancy left by .

The announcement will mark the end of a two-month search that yielded six candidates, each of whom were by the council last week.

The candidates, all of whom reside in Ward 1, include labor organizer Samuel Epps; domestic abuse victim advocate Valerie Nicholas; former city councilman H. Edward Ricks; Washington, D.C., firefighter Brian Lee; John Kenyon, president of the Willow Oaks Homeowners Association; and personal financial counselor Peter O’Reilly.

June 1 was Snyder's last meeting as a sitting council member. She will be retiring and moving with her husband to Delaware during the summer.

Councilman Fredrick Smalls (Ward 2) told Laurel Patch that he would be advocating for a more e council. Still, any candidate filling the vacancy will still have to win over their constituents in November's city election in order to keep his or her seat.