On August 12, the Brooksville City Council held a regular meeting to discuss a multitude of topics as well as to recognize citizens for their accomplishments on Monday. Towards the end of the two-and-a-half-hour meeting, the remaining council members voted on a resolution calling for a city election to fill the vacated Seat 4 on the Brooksville City Council. With a motion from council member Christa Tanner, it passed unanimously with a vote of 4-0.
Mayor Blake Bell added, “Unique to Florida, municipalities call elections, unlike counties and the state where it’s the supervisor of election who calls the election, which we’ve learned in this process.”
August 9 was the final day for candidates to send in their letters of interest to Jennifer Battista, the Brooksville City Clerk and Custodian of Public Records. This decision also provided for a special qualifying period for the election that lasted from noon on August 12 to the same time on August 16.
As this was already taking place at the time of the meeting, this portion of the act was simply for notice. The resolution noted:
“In the event that no more than one (1) person qualifies as a candidate, either for ballot listing or write-in, for a designated seat on the city council, that seat or office shall not be listed on the regular city election ballot,” stated an excerpt from Section 2.10 of the Brooksville City Charter.
“The city council by resolution shall designate the qualified candidate as the council member for the designated seat.”
Former council member Casey Thieryung resigned from the position on July 18. He had served roughly one and a half years of his four-year term, but, as the Sun had reported in a prior issue, life intervened.
The death of his grandmother shortly before his election shifted around some family assets, and the birth of his first child earlier this year shifted priorities. With a new house, new bills, and a new baby to look after, Thieryung ultimately felt it was better to step down.
With Monday’s vote, a special election will be held on November 5 of this year to determine who will take over for the former council member and serve the final two years of his term.
The procedures will be similar to that of the election of Seat 3, except it will be two years instead of the four full years for Mayor Bell’s seat. Bell had announced in late June that he would no longer be seeking re-election. This was despite running unopposed and seemingly being on his way to a second term in the role.
This pair of vacancies, combined with fellow member David Bailey’s failure to qualify for his seat (Seat 2) on the council, will result in a mostly fresh-faced body come December. John Walter McKethan II ran unopposed for Bailey’s seat, while Louis Marc Hallal is doing the same now for Mayor Bell’s. Thieryung’s seat is more hotly contested, though, with Betty Erhard, Christopher Kevin Rhodes Jr., and Joseph E. Santerelli rounding out the field for that race.
