Jeanette Fritzky resigns from town council

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Published August 8th, 2018

Jeanette Fritzky resigns from town council

By Sophie Braccini

Moraga Town Council Member Jeanette Fritzky Photo provided

Jeanette Fritzky, who was elected to sit on Moraga's highest body of the town a year and a half ago, resigned from her post on the Moraga Town Council for medical reasons at the end of July to focus on getting healthy.

Town Clerk Marty McInturf said the decision came too late to put Fritzky's seat on the November ballot, noting that the number of seats up for election was set at this time and regulations do not permit the addition of a third position on the ballot.

The four-member council will decide at its Aug. 22 meeting if a special election will be called to appoint Fritzky's replacement, or if the position will be filled by appointment for two years to complete her tenure, which ends in 2020. Town Manager Cynthia Battenberg indicated in a letter to the town that the council has 60 days from Aug. 22 to decide whether it will appoint a replacement or call for a special election.

Fritzky published a letter to announce her resignation in the hopes to make public the ailment that is afflicting her: lung cancer. A lesser-known form of the disease that touches never-smokers has been affecting a growing number of people, especially those of Asian descent. In her letter she wrote that approximately 25 percent of lung cancer patients are lifelong never-smokers, which means that lung cancer in never-smokers would rank as the seventh most common cause of cancer mortality around the world, if considered as a separate category. She added that an increasing percentage of these cases are diagnosed in younger patients - including those who are physically fit and otherwise healthy - and in women, particularly those of Asian descent, and at late stages of the disease.

Fritzky had symptoms of coughing for a while that were mistaken as allergies or other ailments. She now has to deal with a diagnosis of stage IV, non-small cell lung cancer. She said that as a result she finds that she no longer has the energy, will, or commitment to apply to her position as council member that she used to revere.

Mayor Dave Trotter, who was very saddened by the news, said that her seat on the council would be replaced in a timely manner. He noted how when Council Member Brandt Andersson of Lafayette resigned, the council then decided to interview candidates and appointed someone to replace him, a process that is much less expensive than calling for a special election. He confirmed that the different options would be considered at the Aug. 22 council meeting.



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