The District 2 seat on Statesboro City Council has been vacant since former councilmember Paulette Chavers’ resignation in May. City District 2 residents will have an opportunity to become candidates for the seat with qualifying Aug. 18-20, and to vote for one Nov. 3.
For regular elections the candidate qualifying period lasts up to five days. But for a special election to fill a vacancy the qualifying opportunity can be as short as three days, and remaining council members set the details two months ago when they passed a resolution to call the election.
So, qualifying opens at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 18, continues through Wednesday, Aug. 19, and ends at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20, during those hours each day.
Within that timeframe, eligible candidates must file the “notice of candidacy” paperwork and pay the required $330 fee at the office of City Clerk Leah Harden in City Hall, 50 East Main St.
Although formally set by the council in the resolution, the fee is based on Georgia’s standard formula, 3% of the salary for the elected office in the previous year.
The Statesboro City Charter and relevant state laws establish the requirements for people to qualify as candidates and serve on the council.
In this case, according to a list Harden provided, individuals must:
- Be at least 25 years of age.
- Be a resident of the city for one year.
- Have resided in District 2 for at least six months immediately preceding the election date.
- Be a qualified elector to vote in city elections.
- Have no convictions for crimes involving moral turpitude, unless a full pardon has been granted and citizenship rights restored.
Also under the City Charter, once elected, members are required to reside in their districts as long as they remain on the council.
‘Westside’ district
District 2 encompasses most of Statesboro’s “Westside,” situated west of U.S. Highway 301/South Main Street and west of North Main Street up to Parrish Street, then west of North College Street to Debbie Drive. But in the center of Statesboro, the district also extends east of the U.S. 301 corridor to take in several blocks of downtown, along East Main Street and Savannah Avenue to Zetterower Avenue and south to Brannen Street.
A map of Statesboro’s council districts can be found through a button on this city webpage, and Harden can assist would-be candidates in confirming they are district residents.
Limited to Council District 2 voters’ ballots, the city special election will coincide with the Bulloch County, state and federal general election Nov. 3. The voter registration deadline for that election is Oct. 5.
For partial term
The winner of the special election will fill Chavers’ unexpired term through 2027. That council member, or any other District 2 candidate, will need to seek election to a full term in next year’s regular city elections to keep the seat.
However, this year’s newly elected member will not need to wait until January but will be sworn in at “the first meeting after certified results” from the November special election, City Attorney Cain Smith said in May.
Chavers, who served more than six years on the council, resigned during the May 19 meeting, saying it was “time for me to step away from this role and go on to the next season of my personal and professional journey.”