Published: July 02, 2008 09:09 am         

4 apply for Ward 2 seat

By Lacie Morrison
lmorrison@mineralwellsindex.com

The Mineral Wells City Council is another step closer to filling the vacant Ward 2 seat as the deadline for applying has passed.

Half of the interested candidates for the Ward 2 city council seat applied Monday, the last day applications were accepted.

Mineral Wells City Clerk Juanita Formby confirmed they received four applications for the position, the last two coming in on Monday. The residents vying for the council seat are Mark Berry, Elaine Nelson, William Nixon and Bill Terry.

When former Ward 2 Councilman Mike Allen was elected mayor in May, the Ward 2 position became open. To select a new council member, a committee was formed and applications were made available to interested candidates.

In previous situations, the number of applicants interested in a city council seat has varied. According to Formby, they received three applications in 2002 for the Ward 4 council position when former councilman Clarence Holliman was elected mayor. In 2000, there were eight applications for the Place 2 at-large seat, which was eventually filled by councilwoman Margaret Colton.

The higher number of applicants, Formby explained, was because the seat was an at-large position and open to eligible candidates citywide.

Formby said she intends to present the applications to the recommendation committee, which is comprised of council members Colton, Chris Crawford and John Ritchie. The committee will then present a recommendation to the council and the city council will appoint someone.

Historically, there has been approximately a two-month time period from a vacancy following an election to the appointment of a new council member.