Politics & Government
Today is Last Day to Submit Candidacy for Grosse Pointe Farms Open Council Seat
As of Jan. 7, two candidates have submitted the necessary paperwork to run for the Grosse Pointe Farms City Council vacancy in the special election of Feb. 26.
The deadline for filing a nomination petition for Grosse Pointe Farms City Council's vacant seat and to run in the special election is today, Monday, Jan. 7. As of this morning, two candidates have submitted the necessary paperwork for consideration in the special election to be on Feb. 26, 2013.
Candidates must either have a nomination petition with 50-75 residents' signatures or pay a filing fee of $100, in addition to residency and identity verification requirements to be eligible to run in the February election.
So far, the two candidates for the seat are Joe Ricci and Elizabeth M. Vogel.
Find out what's happening in Grosse Pointewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Last October, the Grosse Pointe Farms city council decided to hold a special election in February to fill the vacant council seat. Prior to their October decision, the council published an announcement calling for interested residents to submit a letter of interest for the council position and nine individuals responded. Among those interested in serving on the coucil were a former Grosse Pointe Public Schools school board president, John Steininger, and former Councilman Leonard's daughter, Patricia M. Leonard.
After reviewing their options, the council decided against appointing someone to the fill the seat until the next regular election in November 2013 and chose instead to hold a special election. The elected candidate will serve the remainder of Leonard's term until 2015.
Find out what's happening in Grosse Pointewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The special election will cost the city about $10,000 Reeside has estimated in October. The money will come from the contingency fund in this year's city budget.
Voting in the Special Election
Grosse Pointe Farms Assistant City Manager Monica Irelan reminds Farms voters that according to Michigan state law, "You must register at least 30 days before the election. This gives the clerk time to process the forms and send you a Voter Identification Card. You must also re-register to vote whenever you move to a new city or township.”
Absentee voter ballots are also available for all elections, including the Feb. 26 Special Election. Irelan said if all goes as planned, the absentee ballots will be sent to Farms residents between Jan. 24 and Feb. 23.
Irelan said if a resident would like to apply for an absentee ballot, they can request an absentee ballot by mail or stop in to the Farms city offices.
