Jacob Ogles
A Special Election to fill the term of deceased Lee County Commissioner Frank Mann will be held concurrent with this year’s election cycle.
Lee County Supervisor of Elections Tommy Doyle set dates for a Special Election, and scheduled a party Primary on Aug. 23 and the General Election on Nov. 8. Those are the same dates as the county-wide elections being held this year, and when elections will be held for two other County Commission seats on the ballot this year.
That’s a decision that will save substantially on the cost of running a countywide Special Election outside the normal cycle. But it also means a qualifying period starts immediately. Candidates may pay a qualifying fee and submit required paperwork beginning on Monday at noon, and must qualify by 5 p.m. on Tuesday. The fee to run as a partisan candidate is $5,943, while those running without party affiliation can pay a fee of $3,962.
Candidates may attempt to qualify by petition, but must submit all of those no later that Saturday at 5 p.m. To qualify this way, candidates must collect 1,223 signatures from valid Lee County voters.
The Supervisor of Elections in Lee County sets the dates for the race instead of leaving that to Gov. Ron DeSantis, though the Governor may appoint someone to fill a vacancy on the board.
The winner of the Special Election will fill out the term of long-time County Commissioner Mann, a former state Representative, Senator and candidate for Lieutenant Governor who died Tuesday. Mann had served in his current position for 15 years, representing District 5.
He was last elected in 2020, when he defeated Democrat Juan Gonzalez with more than 64% of the vote. Mann won a four-year term, and the winner of this race will fill out the remaining two years of that time.
All County Commissioners in Lee County are elected county-wide.
