Leon County Commissioner Jimbo Jackson's vacant seat will appear on the ballot in the 2022 elections.
Jackson died on Saturday due to complications related to long COVID-19. Since 2016, he represented District 2 on the commission. His second term in office was set to end in 2024.
“It’s really sad to hear his passing. He’s been a top-notch servant of our community," said Mark Earley, supervisor of elections for Leon County. "It’s a sad day for our county."
Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to appoint someone to fill the vacancy during the months leading up to the November elections. The appointee would serve until after the newly-elected commissioner is sworn into office.
The governor reviews applications from prospective candidates. There's no set timeline for him to appoint someone under state law, "but it will occur in a timely manner," Bryan Griffin, deputy press secretary for the governor's office, explained in an email.
Candidates interested in running for District 2 have a little less than three weeks to set up a campaign bank account, file the necessary paperwork and pay a fee of $3,357.80 if they want their names to appear on the ballot. “It’s certainly not optimal," he said. But he says he thinks there's enough time for candidates to qualify.
The deadline for candidates to get their name on the ballot is at noon on June 17. The candidate qualifying period begins on June 13.
Typically, candidates running for local office have the option of gathering signatures to qualify. But the deadline to submit a petition has already passed, meaning gathering petitions in lieu of paying the candidate filing fee isn't an option for this particular race, Earley said.
In addition to Jackson's seat, several other county commission seats will appear on the ballot. Those include an at-large seat, District 1, District 3 and District 5.
Primary election day is Aug. 23. Election Day is on Nov. 8.
