3 commission seats up for election in Newberry

The qualifying period to run for three Newberry Commission seats opens on Monday.

The seats up for election are Commissioner Group I held currently by Ricky Coleman, Commissioner Group II currently held by Mark Clark, and Commissioner Group III currently held by Monty Farnsworth.

According to Newberry City Clerk Judy Rice, the qualifying period begins Feb. 21 at noon and ends Feb. 24 at noon.

At Monday’s Newberry Commission meeting, Rice encouraged any citizen interested in running to schedule a pre-qualifying appointment by contacting her at 352-472-2446 or emailing JRice@newberryfl.gov.

The city will hold the election from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 12.

According to the city website, in order to qualify to run a candidate must be a registered voter in Newberry and the state of Florida for at least six months prior to the date of qualifying, have lived within the corporate limits of Newberry for at least six months prior to the date of qualifying, and pay a $110.76 qualifying fee, which is 1 percent of the $11,075.81 annual salary of the commission seat.

Last year Newberry elected two commissioners: Incumbent Tim Marden won another term, while newcomer Tony Mazon took the seat of retiring Commissioner Paul Norfleet.