(From the City of Joplin)
Citizens interested in running for a City Council seat in April 2016 may pick up their nominating petitions from the City Clerk starting Tuesday, November 17. Petitions must be returned to the City Clerk by 5 pm, January 12, 2016 to be eligible for the April 5,2016 election.
The Council will have five seats on the ballot, including three general seats and the seat in both Zone 2 and Zone 3. Currently Morris Glaze, Bill Scearce, and Dan McCreary hold the general seats. Melodee Colbert-Kean holds the Zone 2 seat and Benjamin Rosenberg holds the seat in Zone 3. All seats would be elected for a term of four years, with the exception of McCreary’s general seat. This position will be a two-year term in order to complete the four-year term Mike Woolston previously held. He resigned in September this year, and Council members elected McCreary to fill the seat through the April 2016 election.
In order to be eligible, citizens are required to be a qualified voter and have been a Joplin resident for at least four years immediately prior to the election. They will also be required to show their voter identification card to the Clerk when applying for the election.
Zone candidates need to live in the zone they are seeking a position, and will need to obtain 150 signatures from registered Joplin voters, with 75 of those coming from the represented zone. Their election is included in the citywide ballot. General seat candidates should obtain 150 signatures from registered Joplin voters throughout the city. All candidates will also be required to sign a declaration of candidacy with the City Clerk’s office.
Candidates can seek the state requirements for filing financial reports on their campaigns through the County Clerks’ offices.
The City Clerk will provide a booklet on “Council Election Guidelines” to interested parties. It can also be found on the City’s website at www.joplinmo.org/electionguide . For more information, contact the Joplin City Clerk on the second floor of City Hall, 602 South Main or call 624-0820, ext. 220.
This is the perfect time to clean house. But we need citizens who actually care about the direction of our city. Any takers? I'll consider it...
ReplyDeleteIs the four year residency requirement constitutional?
ReplyDeleteIf the US or state constitution doesn't prohibit it, then yes. But voters can pass a charter amendment to amend the length of the residency requirement or do away with it altogether.
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