No, you’re not having deja vu. Columbus has a second City Council seat to fill in 2014 with the departure of Hearcel Craig, who won election in November to a seat at the Ohio House of Representatives (he will take that office on January 6th). Back in August, A. Troy Miller resigned from his council seat, which kickstarted the scramble to nominate a replacement, and resulted in the selection of Shannon Hardin.
While Miller’s vacancy drew 27 applicants, Craig’s seat only drew 19. Many of them are repeat applicants, and six are semi-finalists from the last selection process: Stefanie Lynn Coe, Catherine Girves, Marian Harris, William Leibensperger, Brandyn McElroy and James Ragland.
The other applicants include David Donofrio, Cheryl Penn, Rory Krupp, Paul Saltz, Ibrahima Sow, Georgina Ginn, Daniel Moss, John Thurman Jr., Elizabeth Brown, Ramona Reyes, Emmanuel Remy, Jaiza Page and Marquise Lovejoy.
The interview process for candidates will extend into next year with a vote for appointment likely to occur on January 12th. If the selection takes place that day, the new council member would be sworn before the end of the month.
While the appointment process would allow the new council member to begin serving almost immediately, they would still be required to run in the November 2015 election, along with appointee Shannon Hardin.
For ongoing discussion on this city council vacancy, CLICK HERE to visit our Messageboard.