Matthew Katz announced Wednesday night that he will not seek a third term as president of the Residents Association in the November election.

In his column in this issue, Katz writes, "I've been a member of the RIRA Common Council for almost eight years, with two terms as president. It's enough. I intend to take a sabbatical from the Council, at least for the next two years. The last four years have been fascinating, but I took the job on as a seven-day-a-week proposition, and that's just what it has been." He said essentially the same thing to the Common Council in its Wednesday night meeting.

Katz's decision throws the RIRA presidency open. His First Vice President, Steve Marcus, has not indicated whether he will run for the top office, nor have any other candidates stepped forward.

Preparing for November's election, the Council chose chairs for its Nominations Committee and Election Committee, Mark Chipman and George Reither. Chipman's committee will seek nominees for the 30-some Council seats; Reither's will run the election. All Island residents over 18 are eligible to vote in the RIRA election, regardless of national citizenship.

In other action, the Council voted 15-4 to send a revised constitution for the organization to a Town Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, October 12, with an earlier informational session to be scheduled. The action was taken over the objection of Karen Stewart, who maintained that the full revision had not been presented to the Council, in writing, at a previous meeting. Frank Farance, serving as parliamentarian, advised that a written version was not required; Katz then ruled that the Council had ample opportunity to consider the general intent of the proposed revisions at the prior meeting, and to study the printed version subsequently distributed, and the vote was taken.