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Warr Acres council appoints Justin Randall to Ward 4 seat and declares vacancy after Jason Cole fails to qualify
Summary
At a special April 2 meeting the Warr Acres City Council appointed Justin Randall to a Ward 4 seat (term to Feb. 2027) and passed a separate resolution declaring a vacancy in the other Ward 4 seat after Jason Cole failed to qualify within the 30‑day period.
The Warr Acres City Council at a special meeting April 2 appointed Justin Randall to fill a Ward 4 council seat with a term expiring in February 2027 and later voted to declare a separate Ward 4 seat vacant after Jason Cole failed to qualify within 30 days of the term commencing.
Council members debated which of two overlapping Ward 4 terms to fill. A staff speaker said city charter provisions, the state Constitution and state statutes provide that an elected official continues to serve until a successor is elected and qualified, and explained that one seat has less than one year remaining while the other would require a candidate to run for a longer remainder of the term. "They continue to perform their duties until their successor is elected and qualified," the staff speaker said, arguing the council should fill the shorter, expiring term now.
A councilmember moved to appoint Justin Randall to the seat expiring February 2027; another councilmember seconded. The council then polled members by name; the motion passed. Councilmembers recorded on the roll call included Way, Fairchild, Myers, Schmidt, Douglas and Moskowitz; the motion was approved by the council.
Later in the meeting the council considered a resolution to declare a vacancy in the other Ward 4 seat (the 2026–2028 term). The staff speaker said the person elected to that seat, Jason Cole, "failed to qualify within 30 days of the term commencing," explaining that taking the oath and assuming duties is required for qualification. The resolution states that failure to take the oath of office within the statutory period results in forfeiture of the seat; the council moved, seconded and approved the resolution declaring the vacancy.
What happens next: the council filled the immediate short-term vacancy by appointment and formally declared the longer-term seat vacant, creating a separate appointment or election process for that position per charter and state law. No additional interim measures or special election dates were specified in the meeting record.
The meeting adjourned after brief closing remarks.
