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McCally's city council seat added to special election
By Andrew Snyder, asnyder@starlocalnews.com
The city of Celina has added an additional item to the ballot for the special mayoral election scheduled for Feb. 2. In addition to voting on the replacement for former Mayor Jim Lewis, residents will choose a replacement for Councilman Todd McCally, who automatically resigned his council seat when he filed to run for mayor last month.
The Celina City Council voted to approve the election Monday.
McCally will resign his council seat on Election Day whether he wins or loses the mayoral vote, city secretary Vicki Faulkner said, because he has more than a year and 30 days left on his current three-year term. McCally was elected in May.
Councilman Sean Terry is also running for mayor, but since his term ends in May and an election will be held that month – within the 120-day time frame after a vacancy that state law requires – the city is not required to hold a special election to fill his seat. If he wins the mayoral vote, his seat will remain vacant until the election; if he loses, he will serve out his term.
McCally and Terry are the only mayoral candidates.
McCally will continue to serve as Mayor Pro Tem and the city's Place 3 council member until the February election. The city council is made up of six at-large seats, meaning every council member represents all of Celina as opposed to a specific geographic area and potential council candidates can live anywhere in the city. To run for council, a person must have lived in Celina for at least six months.
The filing period for placement on the ballot began Tuesday and will continue until Jan. 2.
One candidate, Vincent Ramos, has already filed to run for McCally's seat.
To be elected, a candidate must either run unopposed or receive a majority of votes cast. If every candidate fails to secure a majority of votes during the initial election, a run-off election between the top two vote recipients will be held March 16.
Election Day voting for the open city council seat and mayoral seat will take place 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Celina City Hall. Early voting will be Jan. 16-29. Early voting hours will be 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., with extended hours of 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. on the final two days. Early voting locations include City Hall and the Denton County Elections Office.
The Celina City Council voted to approve the election Monday.
McCally will resign his council seat on Election Day whether he wins or loses the mayoral vote, city secretary Vicki Faulkner said, because he has more than a year and 30 days left on his current three-year term. McCally was elected in May.
Councilman Sean Terry is also running for mayor, but since his term ends in May and an election will be held that month – within the 120-day time frame after a vacancy that state law requires – the city is not required to hold a special election to fill his seat. If he wins the mayoral vote, his seat will remain vacant until the election; if he loses, he will serve out his term.
McCally and Terry are the only mayoral candidates.
McCally will continue to serve as Mayor Pro Tem and the city's Place 3 council member until the February election. The city council is made up of six at-large seats, meaning every council member represents all of Celina as opposed to a specific geographic area and potential council candidates can live anywhere in the city. To run for council, a person must have lived in Celina for at least six months.
The filing period for placement on the ballot began Tuesday and will continue until Jan. 2.
One candidate, Vincent Ramos, has already filed to run for McCally's seat.
To be elected, a candidate must either run unopposed or receive a majority of votes cast. If every candidate fails to secure a majority of votes during the initial election, a run-off election between the top two vote recipients will be held March 16.
Election Day voting for the open city council seat and mayoral seat will take place 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Celina City Hall. Early voting will be Jan. 16-29. Early voting hours will be 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., with extended hours of 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. on the final two days. Early voting locations include City Hall and the Denton County Elections Office.
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