Town hall meeting for upcoming Bonifay city election is Monday night

Election Day for the City of Bonifay is approaching with a change in term limits for city council Seat 2 and Seat 4 that voters will notice on the ballot this year.

Two city council seats usually elected for a two-year term will be open for a one-year term in this election to get the council back into an alternating election cycle that prevents an entire council from being up for reelection all at once. The proposed term limits are due to recent turnover on the council. 

Seat 1 is currently held by Dr. Emily McCann. McCann was appointed to the council in September when Travis Cook assumed the position of mayor with the resignation of former Mayor James “Eddie” Sims on Aug. 25. McCann has however announced on social media that she will soon resign from her seat to run for mayor. Seat 1 will be open for a two-year term.

Seat 2 is now held by Vice-Mayor Ryan Martin and is one of the seats that will be open for a one-year term. 

Seat 3 is held by the council’s newest member, Rick Crews, and will be open for a two-year term. Crews was appointed following the resignation of former Councilman Roger Brooks on Sept. 23. Brooks recently announced that he plans to be back on the ballot following the dismissal of an ethics violation complaint but has not specified which seat he will run for. 

Seat 4, held by Sierra Smith, will be open for a one-year term.

Finally, the seat of mayor currently held by Cook will be open for a two-year term as usual. 

There will be a town hall meeting Monday, Feb. 27 at 5 p.m. regarding the upcoming election. This meeting will cover questions regarding the possibility of early voting and any other concerns voters may have.

Qualifying for the Bonifay city election will run from Monday, March 6 at 8 a.m. through Friday, March 10 at 3 p.m. Election Day is Tuesday, March 28 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The regular session meeting will follow the special session at 6 p.m.