WOBURN - The new Ward 4 alderman will be determined by a majority vote from the City Council, City Clerk William Campbell said this week.

Citing Chapter 224 from the City Charter, Campbell said any vacancy on the council is filled after the notice of the open position is posted in a newspaper of local distribution, followed by a vote in which the winner must receive at least five of the eight votes from the remaining council members.

The only restriction for applicants is they must be registered to vote and live in Ward 4.

"The rest of the process is really up to the council," said Campbell. "They could refer the matter their Personnel Committee and conduct interviews, or they could just pick a successor from the list of applicants."

Ward 4 Alderman James Dwyer is expected to announce his resignation from the council when it meets tonight (7:30 p.m.) at City Hall. Dwyer will be inaugurated in January as the new state representative from the 30th Middlesex district, which includes wards 2-6 in Woburn.

Dwyer, who initially wanted to stay on the council but last week announced he would step down due to time considerations, said one of the reasons he felt more comfortable resigning his council seat was that there was no need for a special election.

"I didn't want the city to spend money for an election to determine my replacement," said Dwyer. "Especially in these tough economic times."

The last time the council filled a vacant spot at about the midpoint of a term was in 1998, when Stephen Braese was selected (from a field that also included present Ward 7 Alderman Raymond Drapeau) to succeed Timothy Dever, who stepped down to seek the city's then-vacant Treasurer/Tax Collector post.

The council has since filled two other vacant seats since then by picking the winner of the election and appointing him two months early. Current City Council President Charles Doherty succeeded former Ward 1 Alderman Anthony Imperioso when Imperioso became a Woburn Police officer, and last year Ward 6 Alderman Michael Raymond succeeded John Ciriello a few weeks early after Ciriello moved to New Hampshire.

"It's up to the council to give me direction from here," said Campbell. "This is really one of those situations where they (council) has the ultimate power to pick who they want to be the next Ward 4 alderman."

The new Ward 4 alderman's appointment will last only until the end of Dwyer's term on the council. The next city election is scheduled for November, 2009.