On Monday, Ald. Eli Judge, District 8, announced he would not be running for reelection. While we understand his decision to move on to law school and pursue broader career moves, his presence on the City Council and dedication to the students of his district will certainly be missed.

In the run up to his election, this paper endorsed his candidacy with little more than a shrug, due to the largely indistinguishable platforms of Judge and his opponent, Lauren Woods. Since his election, however, Judge has kept to his campaign promises and done his best to adequately represent his constituents.

Judge’s passage of the tenant photo ordinance enacted a safeguard against overzealous landlords searching for reasons to take chunks out of tenant security deposits. Not only did the legislation protect tenant rights, it was done with the blessing of most area landlords — a near consensus that spoke to Judge’s ability to think through the consequences and impacted parties of any such ordinance.

Judge’s recent sponsorship of the residential lighting initiative made good on his campaign promise to provide more lighting in the downtown area in order to curtail crime in the area. The move won’t solve the issue, but it is a much needed, cost-effective solution in a time when finances are tight.

Furthermore, we commend the alder on his refusal to involve himself in the political wrangling that will occur as a result of his vacancy. Austin King’s attempt to handpick his successor was an insult to the voters of District 8, and we are happy to see that mistake will not repeated.

We can only hope the candidates considering filling Judge’s seat will not only look at his term on City Council as a model for representation but attempt to improve upon it as well.