Clive won’t hold a special election for a city council seat after a committee determined a petition on the issue was invalid.
In a unanimous vote on Thursday, June 26, the Clive Objections Committee ruled that a petition filed to request a special election is invalid, according to a news release from the Clive City Council.
The petition, which was received by the city on June 2, asked the council to consider holding a special election to fill the remainder of the term previously held by Councilmember Srikant Mikkilineni, who resigned in April.
Breanne Hocker, who was appointed to fill the seat through a unanimous vote by Clive City Council back in May, will continue to hold the position through the end of the year.
The seat will be up for election in November. Whoever wins will serve the remainder of Mikkilineni’s term, which was set to end in 2027.
Organizers claimed the petition, which was submitted after Hocker took office, was more about getting residents involved in local politics than it was about the outcome of the election.
Ultimately, the Objections Committee found that several signatures on the petition were invalid because the petitions had been left unattended for anyone to sign, with no proof that only valid electors had signed, according to the release.
It was also determined that the petition had been submitted past the applicable deadline, which had been March 31.
Mayor John Edwards, City Clerk Matthew Graham and Councilmember Ted Weaver served as the members of the Objections Committee.
Norah Judson is a reporter for the Register. Reach her at njudson@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: No Clive special election after petition ruled invalid by committee
Reporting by Norah Judson, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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