Council to seek applicants for vacant seat next year

Springfield City Council announced it will begin taking applications next year to fill the seat left vacant by former Councilman Thomas Bieker.

Bieker resigned from his post Nov. 2, citing an ineligibility to serve on the city's governing board due to he and his wife purchasing and moving to a house outside city limits.

According to a news release, the city charter dictates a council vacancy must be filled by a majority vote and that the appointee will serve in the position until the next regular city election. Because that election falls in April and the deadline for filing for it is Jan. 15, the city decided to wait until after that time to make sure the appointee serves the remainder of Bieker's term, which ends in April 2015.

"We are already four weeks into the signature-gathering process for that election. In fairness to that person, we should wait to appoint until after that Jan. 15 deadline," Mayor Bob Stephens said in the release.

Bieker, an environmental scientist with Midwest Environmental Consultants, was elected to General Council Seat D in April 2011 with 9,490 votes, or 54.3 percent.[[In-content Ad]]