PANAMA CITY — Candidates got their first chance to officially throw their hats in the ring Monday, as qualifying opened for the April 22 municipal elections.
Callaway, Mexico Beach, Panama City Beach and Springfield all have races in the forthcoming Super Tuesday election. Qualifying closes at noon Friday.
The municipalities have no primary races and all candidates run with no party affiliation, said Mark Andersen, BayCountysupervisor of elections.
“We won’t know which cities have elections until we get all the way through qualifying,” Andersen said, because some candidates may be unopposed.
The Callaway City Commission has three open seats: wards 1, 2 and 3; the Mexico Beach City Council has three open seats: groups 2, 4 and 5; the Panama City Beach City Council has two open seats: wards 1 and 3; and the Springfield City Commission has two open seats: wards 1 and 2.
Candidates qualify by paying a fee or, if the option is available, by petition signatures. The qualifying fees are set by the municipalities and range from $48 for Mexico Beach City Council to $615 for Panama City Beach City Council up to $1,121 for mayor and $935 for City Commission in Springfield.
Springfield candidates cannot qualify by petition.
The Supervisor of Elections office helps the candidate fill out the necessary paperwork and, with rare exceptions, makes sure they set up a bank account for the campaign, Andersen said.
“Each city’s got its own particular requirements,” he said.
Though the candidates have all week, it’s hard to predict when they will come over to qualify, what sense of urgency there may be, Andersen said.
“I refer to it kind of like the weather,” he said.
The smaller municipality elections usually generate less advertising and lower voter turnout than county, state and national elections. Voter turnout was as low as 11 percent in one 2013 Panama City Commission race, but it was 71 percent in Bay County for the 2012 presidential election.
To qualify to run, all candidates should visit the Bay County Supervisor of Elections Office at 830 W. 11th St. in Panama City. For more information, call 784-6100.
