Fort Scott seeks candidates for 2009 city commission

The Fort Scott City Commission is expected to have three seats up for grabs in the 2009 election.

Commissioners Jim Adams, Nick Graham and Barbara Wood are up for re-election and mixed in their decisions to run as incumbents.

Adams was the winner of a two year term in 2007, and has not yet decided if he will seek a second term, he said monday.

Graham took office in 2005 at the age of 25 making him the youngest commissioner in Fort Scott history. According to Graham, he will not run for a second term.

In 2005 Wood was elected to a four-year term after failing to make it past the primary election on her first try. She came to the commission with 18 years of experience as the Bourbon County Clerk. Wood will not be seeking another term so she can make time to take care of her mother and to get back to her passions, quilting and knitting, she said.

Individuals interested in running for city commission can do so by one of two ways.

The first is using the Candidate's Declaration of Intention form, accompanied by a fee of $10 and a $35 registration fee required under the Campaign Finance Act.

The second option is using the Kansas Nonpartisan City/School Nomination Petition forms bearing the names of 16 qualified electors, or one percent of the number of ballots cast in the last City general election -- whichever is less. The $10 fee is waived, however, the $35 registration fee still applies.

The top two vote recipients in Fort Scott's City Commission election will be awarded four-year terms while the third-place finisher will have a two-year term.

Candidates can file after Jan. 1 with the filing deadline set for noon, Jan. 27. Packets can be obtained at the city clerk's office at City Hall. If more than 10 people file to run for the a commission seat, a primary election will be held on March 3, according to House Bill 2307, Section 3. The general election will be April 7.

For more information contact Diane Clay at dclay@fscity.org or call (620) 223-0550.