A trio of Seward County officials will review applications and appoint a District 5 resident to fulfill the remaining months of Seward County Commissioner Ken Schmieding’s term.
Schmieding, who was first elected to the board in 2018, died July 2 at the age of 82. His current term expires Jan. 6.
State law requires the position to be filled within 45 days of a vacancy and selected applicants will interview with Seward County Attorney Wendy Elston, Clerk Brandy Johnson and Treasurer Jacob Zlatkovsky in a public meeting, likely the week of Aug. 3.
The person offered the position will also be decided in a public meeting that could be scheduled at the same time or a different time than the interviews, Johnson said.
To meet the 45-day deadline, the county needs to appoint someone by Aug. 17. The new commissioner elected in November will be sworn into office on Jan. 7.
Jonathan Curtis won the Republican primary nomination on May 12 and is the only official candidate for the position in the general election. He, too, must apply and potentially be appointed by the county officials to complete Schmieding’s term.
Johnson, who serves as election commissioner and county clerk, said other qualified individuals could also apply for the appointment to complete Schmieding’s term. The Seward County Human Resources office is placing notices for applicants for a two-week period as required by law.
The appointee will be compensated for the period served as a paid county employee, as are other members of the board.
Applicants must live in commission District 5, which encompasses Seward Ward 1 and most of Seward Ward 2. That generally includes the areas north of Hillcrest Drive from North Eighth Street to an area east of Karol Kay Boulevard as far north as Waverly Road, plus an area south of Hillcrest Drive between Fifth and Eighth Streets as far south as Lincoln Street, according to the district map on the county’s website.
The option to run for the office against Curtis, however, would require someone to become a write-in candidate on the November ballot. The deadline to file as a write-in candidate for this or any other elected position on the fall ballot is Oct. 23.
While write-in candidates must be registered for votes in their favor to be counted, only the Republican nominee’s name will appear on the November ballot.
Write-in candidates must also pay a standard candidate’s filing fee, which is 1% of the annual salary for the office they are seeking, which would be around $384 for the commissioner’s role.
