Donley County Commissioners called a special election on May 5, 2018, to fill two positions on the Howardwick City Council during a called meeting Friday, February 23.
Qualified Howardwick residents now must file to run for those seats before a deadline of Saturday, March 3, at 5 p.m.
The county’s action comes at the request of a petition from Howardwick residents this week asked the Commissioners’ Court to step in after a series of resignations left the city council without a quorum. No residents from Howardwick attended Friday’s county meeting.
The special election will fill vacancies created by the resignations of Alderman Eric Riddle on February 13 and Alderman Shelly Williamson in December. The terms will expire in 2019.
In addition, County Judge John Howard said the Texas Secretary of State’s office confirmed that Howardwick can proceed with its regularly scheduled May election to fill three expiring aldermen’s seats. The city had four candidates signed up for those three positions, according to information given to the Enterprise on Tuesday.
Howard said the state’s determination is that the elections can happen at the same time on the same ballot even though Howardwick failed to call its regular election before a deadline last week. The county is leaving responsibility with the city to conduct the election and to accept applications for candidates before the deadline.
A call from the Enterprise to Howardwick Mayor Greta Byars’ home went unanswered Friday afternoon. A call to City Hall also was unanswered.
It was unclear when or where candidates might be able to sign up before next Saturday’s deadline.
One resident told Judge Howard that he had tried to sign up for the regular May election as a write-in candidate prior to the deadline at the close of business Tuesday, February 20, but was unable to do so as the city office was closed and padlocked.
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