Local News

Qualifying begins for Sebring election

Jay Meisel | Highlands Today
Published: January 5, 2013

SEBRING - If you plan to qualify this month to run for a seat on the Sebring City Council, don't forget the penny.

The qualification fee is $86.01, which includes a $50 assessment and 1 percent of the council member annual salary of $3,601, said City Clerk Kathy Haley.

People can avoid the fee by filing a hardship document, but only one person has done that in the last 22 years, Haley said.

Qualifying will run Jan. 8-18 and must be done at Sebring City Hall, 368 S. Commerce Ave.

The two seats up for election on March 12 are held by Scott Stanley and John Griffin. All council members serve three-year terms.

Two years ago, no election was held, as no one other than Griffin and Stanley qualified for the seats. If an election is held, early voting will take place March 4-8 at the Highland County Supervisor of Election's Office.

If an election is held, the top two vote-getters will fill the seats for the next three years.

Stanley said he doesn't know whether he will seek re-election. However, Griffin, who has been on the council since 1999, said he plans to seek re-election.

"I enjoy what I'm doing," he said.

He said he believes he's been re-elected without opposition for at least the last two times because the general public believes that he and the council as a whole are doing a good job.

"The City Council has done a good job in keeping costs low," he said, adding that the tax rate has been lowered for the last several years.

Griffin owns Griffin's Carpet Mart, which sells flooring materials, carpeting, patio furniture and other items.

jmeisel@highlandstoday.com (863) 386-5834