Lamar council sets process to fill vacant Ward 1 seat
The council will review applications, interview candidates and appoint someone to serve the remainder of Brent Bates’ term.
The Lamar City Council will review applications for the vacant Ward 1 seat, interview candidates Sept. 16 and appoint a replacement expected to attend the council’s Sept. 28 meeting.
The timeline was outlined during the Lamar City Council’s Sept. 14 meeting. Council members said they would review applications in executive session, interview candidates at a special meeting Wednesday and then meet in executive session before returning to open session to make the appointment.
The appointee will serve the remainder of the term, which the council said runs through November 2027. The city’s council page still listed the seat as vacant as of Sept. 15.
The city’s vacancy notice says applicants must be U.S. citizens, qualified Lamar electors and Lamar residents for at least one year. Because the seat represents Ward 1, applicants also must live in the ward and be qualified electors there. The notice also says people convicted of a felony are ineligible, as are elected officials who simultaneously hold another elected public office or salaried city employment.
The council has not publicly identified the applicants or described additional criteria for choosing among eligible candidates.
Bates resigned from the Ward 1 seat and his mayor pro tem position effective after the Aug. 24 council meeting. He had served as a Ward 1 council member and mayor pro tem since May 2023, contemporaneous coverage reported. The September meetings concern choosing his replacement, not reconsidering that resignation.