And they’re off!

Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm

Reporter - News Analyst

The deadline for qualifying as a candidate for the fall 2015 election to the Fernandina Beach City Commission officially ended at 5:00 p.m. this afternoon (August 28, 2015). In addition to those candidates who had qualified earlier by petition, two additional candidates decided to throw their hats into the race: incumbent city commissioner Pat Gass and former Nassau County Commissioner Jim B. Higginbotham. Gass is not running for re-election from her current group  (Group 5), but has opted to file and qualify as a candidate in the Group 4 race. The official line-up of candidates seeking the two positions as per Fernandina Beach City Clerk Caroline Best at 5:08 p.m.:

Group 4

Pat K. Gass

Jim B. Higginbotham

Jennifer Schriver

Roy G. Smith

Group 5

Clinch Kavanaugh

Leonard A. Kreger

The Fernandina Observer invites all candidates to submit their press releases and photos for publication. As in past years, the Fernandina Observer will invite all candidates to answer a series of questions next month to be published in their unedited form to help our readers understand the candidates’ positions. The Fernandina Observer will also sponsor a Candidates Forum in October, which will take place at Fernandina Beach City Hall and be broadcast to the viewing public.

The General Election will be held on November 3, 2015. To be eligible to vote in this election, Fernandina Beach residents must be registered with the Supervisor of Elections by October 5, 2015. Should a Runoff Election be required for the Group 4 seat, that election will be held on December 8, 2015. New voters must register to vote by November 9, 2015 to be able to cast a ballot in that election.  All city races are non-partisan.