The filing deadline for the special election for Jacksonville mayor is Monday, March 2.
Pulaski Circuit/County Clerk Pat O’Brien reminds potential candidates for Jacksonville mayor that the deadline to file for office is noon, Monday, March 2 in the County Clerk’s office in Little Rock.
O’Brien said in a press release that an error in the first ordinance passed by the Jacksonville City Council concerning the election mistakenly carried a later deadline.
“If a person submits their paperwork one minute late, they will not be certified,” said O’Brien. “That is the law.”
He said that during his four years as county clerk, several candidates for various offices have waited until the last minute to file.
“If they do not have enough valid signatures or their paperwork is incorrect, we have to turn them down,” he said.
O’Brien said waiting until the last day on March 2 to file is a “bad idea.”
Four candidates have already filed for the office including Aldermen Gary Fletcher and Kenny Elliott, realtor Tommy Dupree and Farm Bureau executive Jody Urquehart.
It is rumored that as many as eight to 10 candidates may eventually file to succeed Jacksonville Mayor Tommy Swaim in the election which will be held Tuesday, May 12.
An expected run-off election would be held Tuesday, June 2.
Swaim, who has held the office since 1987, will retire in the middle of his term.
O’Brien says candidates with questions about the filing process should contact the County Clerk’s office at 340-8500.
