It may seem a little early to be talking about the November city council elections, but whenever there’s a whisper about who might be considering a run, it’s a hard thing to overlook.

We recently heard that local artist and musician Martin Bemberg was thinking about dropping his name into the hat for the soon-to-be vacant Position 1 seat in Ward 2, and after getting in touch with him, he confirmed it to be true.

Bemberg has developed an interest in politics and policymaking and is now gauging support and talking with current and former council members to see if he’d be a good fit for the position.

“I am foremost interested in the interaction between the arts and commerce,” said Bemberg. “When the two are combined, we get better art, better commerce, and a better society.”

Memphis Pencils at CMJ ’08

Bemberg, a 22-year-old, lifelong Ward 2 resident, fronts the local band Memphis Pencils and is a published author of a short story called “Amour Propre,” in Connotations, Fayetteville High School’s award-winning literary magazine.

He’s currently working on a Spanish/German double major at the University of Arkansas with minors in creative writing and anthropology. He’s been invited to multiple foreign language honors societies at the UA and is nearly fluent in both Spanish and German.

“This is a great city and I’d love to help make it even better,” said Bemberg.

Kyle Cook, the current alderman in the Position 1 seat has said he does not plan to seek re-election this fall.

If Bemberg does decide to file for election in August, he’ll face Mark Kinion, who in 2008 ran for the Position 2 seat, but lost by a narrow margin to Matthew Petty.

Of course, there’s still plenty of time for more candidates to announce.