Council picks 6 finalists for empty seat

Springfield City Council yesterday narrowed a field of 19 applicants to six finalists for the seat left empty by Ken McClure’s appointment to mayor.

The winning candidate for General Seat D will serve until the next council election in April 2019. Interviews for the finalists are scheduled 1 p.m. May 9, with a vote expected to follow. The eight council members must approve the final selection by at least five votes, according to a news release.

The finalists, in alphabetical order, are:
    •    Scott Bailes, a former professional baseball player and Zone 4 councilman who’s now manager of market development for the Springfield Cardinals;
    •    Diana Day, People Centric Consulting Group LLC’s chief business officer and Rountree Neighborhood Association secretary;
    •    Kent Hyde, a senior law partner at Hyde, Love & Overby LLP who’s also board chairman of Southern Missouri Bank of Marshfield;
    •    Richard Ollis, CEO of insurance firm Ollis/Akers/Arney and a former U.S. Navy petty officer;
    •    Jane Sellars, a retired gifted education teacher at Springfield Public Schools and elementary teacher at Springfield Catholic Schools; and
    •    Isabelle Jimenez Walker, a real estate agent who owns Eagle Management & Realty 1 LLC and former Greater Springfield Board of Realtors director.

McClure’s General Seat D became available when he was sworn in this month as mayor after defeating competitor Kristi Fulnecky with 68 percent of the votes.

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