Five apply for open council seat

Five individuals applied for Springfield’s Zone 1 City Council seat vacated by Jeff Seifried, who stepped down in February to lead the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau.

March 27 was the deadline to apply. Council is scheduled to review applications the week of April 13 and do in-person interviews with finalists the week of April 20, according to a city news release.

The candidates, in alphabetical order, are:

• Brett Esch, quality analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co.;
• Phyllis Ferguson, chief operating officer and treasurer at Mexican Villa;
• Joseph Hoffman, former U.S. Army officer in logistics, finance and operations;
• Brittany Hopp, partner at York & Hopp CPAs;  and
• Eric Wood, retired U.S. Army senior maintenance supervisor.

Zone 1 is located in the northwest quadrant of the city of Springfield.

Qualifications to fill the vacant seat include:

• being a qualified and registered voter of the city;
• being a resident of the city for at least two years immediately prior to election and a resident of Zone 1 for at least one year;
• not being a candidate or nominee for any other paid public office, with exceptions for National Guard, Naval or Military Reserve members or notary publics; and
• not being employed by the city of Springfield or any of its departments – except for certain Public Safety workers – boards or agencies during or for one year after serving on council.

Seifried filled the chamber post vacated by Councilman Nick Ibarra in February 2012. That seat became available after Ibarra was charged with a Class D felony following a domestic disturbance at his home. Seifried was formally elected to the Zone 1 seat in 2013. The individual selected to fill the post would serve the remainder of Seifried’s four-year term ending in 2017.

The action to select a Zone 1 council member will come after Springfield voters fill five council seats on the April 7 general election ballot. [[In-content Ad]]