LAKELAND — The City of Lakeland will have a Special Election May 25, to fill a vacancy on the city’s Board of Commissioners.
Commissioner Michele Dial resigned on March 7, and the special election is required to fill her board seat. She was the second commissioner to resign since the first of the year. Sherri Gallick stepped down earlier this year after her husband’s company transferred him to Kansas City.
When Gallick resigned, the commission appointed a replacement, Matt Wright. That contributed to the necessity for a special election. Under state law, the commission can only have one appointed commissioner. This second vacancy caused city officials to petition the Election Commission to hold a Special Election.
A special meeting of the Shelby County Election Commission (SCEC) at 4 p.m. today set the date for the county’s second special election to be held in the county for 2017. The four SCEC commissioners present voted unanimously approved a resolution approving the City of Lakeland’s request for a Special Election, received by SCEC on March 10, 2017.
SCEC is required by the state to file a notice within 10 days of receipt of a request for an election, which is why the special meeting was necessary. The regular monthly meeting of SCEC is Tues. Mar. 21, which is one day after the deadline for filing the notice, according to Linda Phillips, administrator of elections for SCEC.
Early voting starting for the May 25 election will be May 5-20; times and locations are still to be determined.
