Dondi Allen has withdrawn her name for consideration for the Brainerd City Council Ward 3 seat, endorsing Gary Scheeler.

Allen issued the following statement to the Dispatch via email Thursday morning:

“I would like to respectfully withdraw from the Brainerd City Council race,” she said. “However, I am not able to remove my name from the ballot. This race has been a great blessing for me to get my feet wet into local politics. I appreciate all of the support I have received.

In her email, Allen also included her endorsement of candidate Scheeler.

“I would like to endorse Gary Scheeler,” Allen said in the email. “He is a good honest man who is running in a lot of the same issues I have been concerned about.  

“I believe he will be a great help the community. He has been on council in the past and has done a great job.”

Allen, 35, originally filed for both Brainerd School Board and Brainerd City Council on the same date but withdrew from the school board race when she learned she could only run for one post.

Others running for a Ward 3 seat are Howard Brewer, Jeff Czeczok, John Magnuson and Scheeler.

JESSI PIERCE, staff writer, may be reached at 855-5859 or jessi.pierce@brainerddispatch.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jessi_pierce (@jessi_pierce).