With the resignation of two members of the Watonga City Council, there are multiple questions to be answered as to how those seats are filled.
The preferred method, and the one selected by the remaining council members at the regular meeting Tuesday evening, is to accept letters of interest from citizens. Because one seat was the at-large member, anyone who lives inside the city limits and has been registered to vote for more than six months is eligible to toss their hat in the ring. The second seat, for Ward #4, must be filled by a resident of that ward. They, too, must have been registered to vote for at least six months.
The council is not obligated to select members from those submitting letters of interest though. If following interviews, there is no consensus on who should fill out the unexpired terms, the seats can remain open until the April election.
Blaine County Election Secretary Brenda Rice verified city attorney Jared Harrison’s timeline for the election and why there can be no special election.
Rice said a special election must be held at least 120 days before the filing period for the regular election. The filing period is February 3-5 for the April election, which would usually seat city council members for seats in Wards #1 and #2. Therefore, Harrison was correct in his calculation there wasn’t time for a special election.
The April election could fill not only seats for Wards #1 and #2, but the at large seat and the Ward #4 seat as well, if those are not filled through appointment.
Sitting council member Ryan Bruner - the only seat not up for appointment or election - said he was leaning toward leaving the seats unfilled until April, when the residents could speak through the ballot box and select their own council members.
Kayla Ragsdale, representing Ward #2, was seated by appointment while Tina Willis, Ward #1, was elected. There is no indication at this point whether they will choose to run for re-election.
Anyone who is seated for at large or Ward #4 will only fill the unexpired terms, which run until 2027. At that time, the seats are up for election.