SEBASTIAN — Those seeking a two-year term on the Sebastian City Council will have a new opportunity to reach out to a different group of voters now that the Taxpayers’ Association of Indian River County has decided to host its own candidate forum.
While qualifying for the Sebastian City Council doesn’t officially start until August, already one candidate has announced his intent to run against the three incumbents. The incumbents, to date, have not yet publicly announced whether they will seek another term.
The newest addition to the candidate forums comes after the Taxpayers’ Association’s leadership decided renewed attention to Sebastian and the northern part of the county was in order.
“Last I checked, Vero Beach wasn’t the center of the universe,” President Glenn Heran said, noting the city’s long-running electric utility saga has monopolized much of the public’s attention.
In the six months that Heran has been president of the organization, he said he’s been trying to get the group back to its roots – focused on taxpayer issues.
“We want to hear what those candidates have to say about our mission,” Heran said of Sebastian office seekers. “It’s time to come and see Sebastian.”
While the group is reaching out to Sebastian, there are no plans currently to host a candidate forum for the Fellsmere City Council race.
Three seats are up on the Sebastian dais, currently held by Mayor Bob McPartlan, Vice Mayor Don Wright, and Councilwoman Andrea Coy.
Sebastian businessman Damien Gilliams is the only one, so far, to announce intent to run.
Sebastian candidates historically have been invited to a handful of candidate forums, including two that had been held at Sebastian City Hall in the Council Chambers – organized and moderated by the Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce and the Sebastian Property Owners Association.
As of last year, the Chamber and SPOA merged their forums, hosting just one joint event in the Council Chambers.
The move came out of deference to the city, which bore the expense of televising both forums and having city staff – including police – on hand.
Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Beth Mitchell said the Chamber fully intends to have a candidate forum this election season – provided there is an election.
“We consider it our civic duty,” Mitchell said of hosting a candidate forum.
It is possible, though not likely, no election will be held. If one of the three incumbents opts to not seek reelection and no one else files to run, there would be no need for an election.
That situation has arisen from time to time in Fellsmere – but not recently in Sebastian.
As for The Taxpayers’ Association of Indian River County’s forum, the event will be held during the group’s monthly luncheon on Sept. 11.
The organization will meet at Capt. Butcher’s on Indian River Drive at 11:45 a.m. The cost for the lunch is $18.
“It’s been a tradition,” Heran said of the group hosting candidate forums – though this is a first for Sebastian.
Heran said the public is welcome to attend the luncheon and hear what the candidates have to say.
The group has hosted forums for the Vero Beach City Council, the Indian River County Commission, the Property Appraiser’s Office, the Supervisor of Elections Office, and the School Board of Indian River County, among others.
“This is pretty old hat,” Heran said of organizing and hosting a candidate forum.
The Taxpayers’ Association of Indian River County candidate forum is expected to be one of the first opportunities for candidates to introduce themselves to the public after the qualifying period comes to a close.
Sebastian City Clerk Sally Maio serves as the city’s elections supervisor, handling the forms and fees candidates must submit.
She said the city’s qualifying period – the stretch of time during which candidates can submit and finalize their documents – will run from Aug. 22 through Sept. 6.
Candidates, such as Damien Gilliams, can pre-qualify before Aug. 22 by filling out the forms, including the eligibility form, but not finalize it until the $25 fee is collected during the qualifying period.
Pre-qualifying gives candidates the option to open a campaign finance account, which allows them to start raising funds and spending those funds on their campaign, according to Maio.
Candidates in Sebastian, however, are not allowed to post campaign signs until the first day of the qualifying period, per the city’s land development code.
This year’s election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 5. There will be no early voting.
The top three vote-getters will be sworn in at the following City Council meeting, which will be Nov. 13, where a mayor and a vice mayor will be selected.
Council members earn $300 per month and the mayor earns $450 monthly. They each receive $300 extra to cover travel and expenses for meetings and city business they conduct within 75 miles of the city.
The Taxpayers’ Association of Indian River County meets on the second Wednesday of each month. For more information about the organization, visit www.tpairc.org.
