All seven candidates vying for seats on the Ocala City Council have been disqualified after the Marion County Supervisor of Elections discovered none of the individuals paid their qualifying fees in accordance with state law.
On Monday morning, Ocala-News.com published a story about TamBoura Jenkins, who registered to run for the District 3. At the time, the Marion County Supervisor of Elections website showed that the majority of the candidates had been marked as “qualified.”
That changed hours later, with the city of Ocala issuing a statement confirming that all seven candidates had failed to qualify for the September 16 general election.
“Following a thorough review by the City Clerk and City Attorney, in consultation with the Marion County Supervisor of Elections, it was determined that none of the candidates strictly complied with the requirements of Florida law as it pertains to the payment of their qualifying fee,” reads a press release issued by the city at 5 p.m. on Monday.
In specific, the city says that Florida Statutes Section 99.061 requires candidates to pay associated qualifying fee using a check drawn from a campaign account. Another section requires that checks include the campaign account name, account number and bank name, exact amount, treasurer’s signature, purpose of the expenditure, and the payee’s name.
“None of the seven candidates met all of these criteria. As a result, no candidates qualified for the offices listed in the April 15 Proclamation. The City Clerk provided formal notice of this determination to the Supervisor of Elections on Monday, July 14,” reads the city’s statement.
The list of candidates who did not qualify includes three incumbents: Barry Mansfield, who has raised $31,750 in his unopposed bid to reclaim the District 1 seat, Mayor Ben Marciano, who has raised $18,250 for his campaign, and James P. Hilty, Sr., who has raised $6,600 in campaign funds.
Two candidates were vying for the District 3 seat: Mark William Clark and TamBoura Jenkins.
With the disqualifications, the offices are considered vacant and must be filled through a special election that will be held on the same day as the originally scheduled election (i.e., Tuesday, September 16).
On Monday, Mayor Ben Marciano issued a new proclamation for the special election. During the Ocala City Council’s regular meeting on Tuesday, the council will establish the “dates, times, procedures, and requirements for the qualifying period,” according to the city.
The Ocala City Council next meets at 4 p.m. at Ocala City Hall (110 SE Watula Avenue) on Tuesday, July 15.