Issaquah’s Council President John Traeger decided not to run for reelection this fall, but not without tapping a Squak Mountain man to run for his seat.

The announcement was the fourth and final expected to come from council members whose terms end this year.

With a quorum of council seats up for election in November, Issaquah residents could change city government with just one ballot.

So far none of the four seats have been challenged, but interested candidates have until June to make the decision.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if all the seats had a challenger,” said Paul Winterstein, who was endorsed by Traeger.

Winterstein has served on the city’s Human Services Commission for four years and has volunteered with Issaquah Meals Program since 1992.

Although he has a strong human services background, he said his focus would be on the Hyla Crossing and Central Issaquah plans.

It’s natural for him to branch beyond human services and to look at quality of life questions for all of Issaquah, he said.

He was among nine people who applied for an empty city council position in March, but he ultimately lost the spot to Stacy Goodman in a 4-2 vote.

A few weeks ago Traeger approached him about running for his seat, and he gladly accepted the endorsement.

Fred Butler, Joshua Schaer and Goodman already announced plans to run for their respective seats in November.

Traeger decided to leave public office to focus on his career, but still plans to remain involved in the community, he said in a press release.

Elected into office during the Southeast Bypass controversy, Traeger’s first major vote was to stop the massive overpass from being built.

Last year he helped initiate talks for the Park Pointe preservation deal that simultaneously protected forests at the base of Tiger Mountain and opened the doors for Bellevue College to buy land in the Issaquah Highlands.