As you are aware, Jeff Starkey submitted his resignation from City Council effective November 1, 2020 as a result of his family moving outside of city limits. Per the City's Charter, the City Council by a majority vote of all its remaining members, shall appoint a qualified person to fill the vacancy until the person elected to serve the remainder of the unexpired term takes office. An advertisement was placed in the Tampa Bay Times on September 23, 2020 and September 30, 2020 seeking a Letter of Interest from candidates who wished to fill the vacant seat. The submitted letters must have included the following for consideration:
- The candidate’s basis of interest in public service
- A description of the reasons why the candidate believes that they are well suited to serve the city in this capacity
Preferred candidates were required to have a working knowledge of the city, a demonstrated ability to work effectively as a member of a decision making team, ability to build consensus on issues and have an interest in the continued advancement of the city.
Letters of Interest were received from Joan Nelson Hook, Mike Peters, R.W. Bill Phillips, George Romagnoli and Bob Smallwood. Each of the candidate's letters are attached to aid City Council in their discussion and subsequent appointment.
It should be noted that this appointment is earlier than specified in the advertisement due to the fact that Jeff Starkey resigned earlier than anticipated.