Qualifying for Apopka’s special city election to fill Seat 2 will be a 48-hour window next week following the resignation of City Commissioner Alice Nolan earlier this month.
Those wishing to run for Seat 2 to replace Nolan must qualify during the period from noon on Wednesday, August 26, to noon on Friday, August 28, in the city clerk’s office at Apopka City Hall, 120 E. Main Street. The qualifying fee is $636.
Two candidates have publicly announced that they will run for the seat, including Gene Knight, who ran unsuccessfully two years ago for the City Council, and Yesenia “Jesi” Baron. A resident of Apopka since 2012, Baron was born and raised in Miami.
Two others, former City Commissioner Diane Velazquez and Michael Griffin, have also picked up candidate packets, but have not announced yet that they are running.
The special city election will piggyback on the general election on November 3 that will feature the presidential election at the top of the ballot.
Because the city election will follow the same parameters as the general election, voters will be able to cast their ballots in their normal precincts on November 3, but if more than two people qualify to run and one person does not get a majority of the votes cast, a runoff election will be held December 8 and that election will be held at the two city precincts, one at the Apopka Community Center/VFW and one at the Northwest Recreation Complex.
Early voting for the special election and general election will be held from October 19 through November 1 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day. In Apopka, the early-voting site will be the Apopka Community Center/VFW, 519 S. Central Avenue. There will be nearly 20 other sites for early voting across Orange County.
The final date to register for the city election and general election will be October 5. The term for Seat 2 will end on April 26, 2022.
The Apopka Chief and The Planter are weekly newspapers that cover the community of Apopka, Florida. Subscribe today!
