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Hinesville to hold special election to fill council seat
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Hinesville City Council called a special meeting Sept. 24 to discuss the now vacant District 5 council seat. Mayor Pro Tem and District 5 council member Kenneth Shaw submitted his resignation to council, effective Sept. 30.

“Mr. Shaw has done a great job serving this council for a lot of years,” Mayor Allen Brown said. “We regret that he has chosen to resign.”

According to City Manager Ken Howard, 2019 is the year for the regular municipal election. The charter states that any vacancy in a district seat beyond 12 months will have to be filled by way of a special called election.

“If it was within a 12 month time period, the charter would allow mayor and council to appoint someone to that position,” Howard said. Because the resignation was tendered outside of the 12 month period, council is required to hold a special election to fill the seat.

City Attorney Linnie Darden drafted a resolution for council, and after consultation with the Board of Registration and Election, Howard presented to council the earliest date available for a special election: March 19, 2019.

The council made a motion to approve the March 19 date for the special election, and also approved the special election run-off date of April 16, 2019.

“The resolution does specifically state that the mayor and council will issue a call for a special election to fill the vacant seat of city council district 5,” Howard said.

The resolution passed unanimously.

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