KEENE, NH – A local business owner who earned enough write-in votes during the Keene Municipal Primary to be eligible to run for At-Lare City Councilor in the general election says his name won’t appear on the ballot in November.

Voters cast their ballots in the city’s primary election Tuesday. The only contested race was in Ward 3 for ward councilor where two candidates were eliminated heading into the general election.

Meanwhile, Ted McGreer, owner of Ted’s Shoe and Sports, earned 11 write-in votes for At-Large Councilor, which he says isn’t something he was necessarily pushing for.

“I honestly never expected to wake up yesterday morning and find out I was going to be potentially on the ballot for the general election,” McGreer said in an interview with WKBK Thursday morning. “I spent most of the day yesterday really thinking about how I could best serve our community and our city, and I do an awful lot of things right now that in a roundabout way supports our community, but my business is really my priority…. I think after kind of weighing the pros and cons it’s just probably not the right time for me to sit on City Council.”

McGreer said he spends a lot of time at his business on Main Street and time with his family, but with that being said, he said it may be something he considers down the line.

“I love this community, there’s nobody who’s a bigger cheerleader than I for Keene, and it’s certainly an area in the future that I probably will consider.”

The city council has been busy lately with a couple of heavy topics, including the Downtown Infrastructure Improvement and Reconstruction Project. McGreer says although he won’t be on the council, he will be involved as the project moves forward.

“I am going to continue to be a major voice for the Downtown as it relates to the infrastructure project,” he said. “I’m a huge supporter of the local economy and I think the Downtown economic engine is really going to be challenged in the next two years as it relates to this project. I don’t want to speak on behalf of all the merchants and business downtown, but I certainly will be down there in full force to support their feelings and relay that to the new mayor and the new city council.”

Voters will head back to the polls for the General Election on November 7th. For more information on ward and voting locations, visit the city’s website.