Another Muncie City Council member is resigning from the elected body.  As IPR’s Stephanie Wiechmann reports, this is the third resignation from the current council since November.

Republican District 1 councilman Ralph Smith announced his resignation at Monday night’s city council meeting, beginning on August 1.  He spoke about the commitment of his fellow council members.

“When we ran as candidates, we all stated that we would put service before self and people before politics.  And we have done that.  And I’m proud of each and every one of you for holding true to that.”

In a Facebook post, he says recent health challenges for his family had the military veteran rethinking his future after more than 40 years in public service.  Smith says he’ll be retiring to Florida in a few weeks.

The Republican wasn’t always a Republican.  Smith ran for mayor twice as a Democrat, most recently in the 2011 primary.  He was listed on ballots as Ralph “Jigger” Smith, which he has said is a childhood nickname.  He also previously worked for the Delaware County Veterans Affairs Office.

Smith’s replacement will be chosen by a Republican party caucus.  This will make the third current city council member appointed.  Republican Ro Selvey replaced Richard Ivy on the council when he was appointed the city’s deputy mayor.  And Democrat Brandon Garrett replaced Ray Dudley, who left to head security at Muncie Community Schools.