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Councilmember Maudelle Shirek will mount a write-in campaign to keep her City Council seat, sources close to her said Monday. 

“She’s running, that’s definite,” said Dale Bartlett, her legislative assistant. 

Last Tuesday Shirek asked close friend Jacqueline DeBose to take out papers to run as a write-in candidate. The decision ended weeks of speculation among members of the 93-year-old councilmember’s inner circle as to her intentions to seek an eleventh term in office. 

Shirek, 93, had planned to run for reelection in South Berkeley’s District 3, but in an apparent mix-up she was disqualified from the ballot when her staffer Michael Berkowitz failed to collect the required 20 signatures from registered voters in the district by the city-mandated deadline. A campaign volunteer, assigned by Berkowitz, had collected signatures from across the city instead. 

Shirek refused to comment on her political plans when contacted by the Daily Planet on Monday. 

Her apparent re-entry into the District 3 race as a write-in candidate could be a blow to the candidacy of Max Anderson, a former Shirek supporter. Many city progressives endorsed him even before Shirek was disqualified from the ballot. 

“Certainly this will make things more difficult for me,” said Anderson, who said he fears that Shirek’s candidacy could throw the election to community activist Laura Menard, who he expects will draw support from more moderate voters. “The pool of voters Maudelle and I would draw from are the same in many respects.” 

Menard declined comment for this story. 

News that Shirek will mount a write-in campaign follows weeks of dizzying speculation over her future. For weeks Shirek had been signaling her intention to run. 

Two weekends ago she attended the endorsement meeting of the John George Democratic Club and two weeks prior to that she sought and received an endorsement from the Service Workers International Union Local 535. 

But at the same time that Shirek had asked DeBose to take out papers, rumors were spreading through city hall that she had decided to retire from public life. 

“Maudelle is pretty close with her thoughts,” said DeBose, who added she didn’t know Shirek’s intentions until she got the request to take out papers last week. 

Shirek has until Oct. 20 to submit at least 20 signatures from registered voters in the district to qualify as a write-in candidate. DeBose said she didn’t expect the campaign to file signatures until Friday, the day when aides have scheduled a meeting to organize the campaign’s chain of command. 

What role Berkowitz will play in the campaign, if any, after his apparent gaffe, remains uncertain. He has previously served as campaign treasurer, but DeBose’s husband, Charles Debose, a Cal State Hayward professor, said that he has been nominated for the post and a final decision will be made by Shirek on Friday.