Staff Reports
Kenneth City Mayor Wanda Dudley was automatically reelected when no one qualified to run against her in the March 2018 election by the conclusion of the qualifying period on Dec. 22, according to officials.
Dudley, 60, a former city council member and longtime schoolteacher who was born in Pennsylvania but has resided in Kenneth City since 1983, was elected mayor in 2015 and was seeking a second consecutive term in March.
Dudley looks to her second term with optimism.
“Many positive things have occurred and many more to come,” Dudley said. “We are being productive in making Kenneth City better.”
The Town of Kenneth City is a small community of roughly 5,000 sandwiched between Pinellas Park and St. Petersburg. Kenneth City is governed by a town council consisting of five members—four councilmembers and a mayor—elected at large by the qualified voters of the town each March.
Kenneth City councilmembers serve two-year terms, with two members elected each year. Councilmembers are limited to serving three consecutive terms. The mayor of Kenneth City must be an elector and resident for three years immediately preceding qualifying. The mayoral term runs for three years, and the mayor is limited to two consecutive three-year terms.
Despite Mayor Dudley’s automatic reelection, Kenneth City will still have an election in March, as three candidates have qualified for two open council seats: incumbents Carl Troup and Barbara Roberts as well as Ron Snead, a former councilmember who last served in 2012.
According to town documents, the mayor of Kenneth City is paid a salary that does not exceed $500 per month, while the salary of the councilmembers shall not exceed $300 per month.
The next Kenneth City municipal election will take place on Tuesday, March 13.
