The City of Clermont’s election qualifying period closed at noon today for Clermont City Council Seats 1, 3 and 5.
The following people officially qualified to run for Clermont City Council:
Seat 1:
Timothy Bates (incumbent since 2012)
Joa Macnalie
Seat 3 (mayor):
Stephen A. Franklin
Tim Murry
Diane Travis (serving in Seat 5 since 2014)
Seat 5:
William R. Garbarino
Michele Barnard Pines
The candidates for Seats 1 and 5 will appear on the November 3 general election ballot. Because more than two candidates qualified for Seat 3 (mayor), a primary election will be held on Aug. 18.
If one of the candidates in the primary election receives a majority (over 50%) of the votes cast, he or she will be declared elected and the seat will not be on the Nov. 3 ballot. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes, the two candidates for whom the highest number of votes is cast will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Clermont City Council seat terms are for two years and are staggered with Seats 1, 3 and 5 up for election in even years and Seats 2 and 4 in odd years; all seats are members at large. The current city council is: Seat 1, Timothy Bates; Seat 2, Jim Purvis; Seat 3, Gail L. Ash; Seat 4, Heidi Brishke; and Seat 5, Diane Travis.
This is the city’s first election qualifying since two Clermont City Charter amendments passed in the November 2019 general municipal election related to council seats:
- Amendment 1 limits a person to four consecutive two-year terms moving forward. (Previously, a person could serve on council for an unlimited number of terms.)
- Amendment 2 requires that a candidate is a qualified elector of the city for a minimum of 18 months prior to the date of qualification as a candidate. (Previously, you only had to be a registered elector when qualifying as a candidate.)
