Qualifying for Gainesville city municipal elections set for late August

Qualifying for municipal elections in Gainesville is scheduled to begin later this month.
 
"We've set the qualifying periods to be August 19, 20 and the 21 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the city manager's office," said Denise Jordan, city clerk. "We have qualifying packets available for anyone who's interested in running for office. If they want to contact the city clerk's office to receive a qualifying packet, they can do that prior to the qualifying period so they have a chance to review information before they need to actually come in and file documents."
 
Up for election in November are seats on the Gainesville City Council and Gainesville City School Board for Wards 2, 3, and 5.

On the city council, the posts are held currently by Zack Thompson (Ward 2), Barbara Brooks (Ward 3) and Ruth Bruner (Ward 5). At this point, Bruner is the only one who has said she will not be returning when her post expires.
 
Some have already joined the fight in hopes of winning the Ward 5 seat, including educator Juli Clay.
 
For Gainesville City Schools, the election includes the seats of John Filson (Ward 2), Willie Mitchell (Ward 3) and Sammy Smith (Ward 5).
 
In addition, the qualifying dates will be advertised in the newspaper, the county's legal organ, starting Sunday.
 
The Gainesville City Council agreed to put the dates and information about the elections on its consent agenda for its next meeting; that includes naming the city clerk as the elections superintendent and qualifying officer.
 
That meeting will be held on August 6 at 5:30 p.m.