LAWTON — Lawton City Council members are ready to interview candidates for the Ward 6 seat on the council.
After discussing the vacancy in a closed session April 25, the council directed the city clerk to contact applicants for the position and invite them for interviews. The council will interview the candidates in a closed-door session during a special meeting, set for noon Tuesday at City Hall.
The council is looking for the successor to former Ward 6 Councilman Sean Fortenbaugh, who resigned in March. He announced his decision in a letter to Mayor Stan Booker, saying he was stepping down from the council and all city-related appointments as of March 27.
A longtime resident of Lawton, Fortenbaugh joined the council in 2018. His current term was set to expire in January 2024.
Under Lawton’s charter, the council may appoint someone to fill a vacancy on the panel. That person will serve until the next possible municipal election to choose someone who will complete the previous council member’s unexpired term.
Lawton has already scheduled a municipal election for Sept. 12, when voters will select representatives for Wards 6, 7 and 8. That vote will coincide with a special election to choose someone to finish Fortenbaugh’s unexpired term.
Ward 6 voters will receive two ballots in September. On the first ballot, voters will choose someone to finish Fortenbaugh’s unexpired term. On a separate ballot, voters will decide who will represent the ward when the new term begins in January.
“I know it’s a little odd, but that’s the way our charter reads,” acting City Attorney Tim Wilson said during the council’s April 11 meeting. “And we have to follow our charter.”
Councilman George Gill said the Ward 6 seat could conceivably turn over three times between now and January.
“I don’t want to complicate things any, but it’s my understanding that we could possibly have three different council people between now and the first of the year: One we appoint, one that runs for the special (election) and then one that is generally elected,” he said. “That’s a possibility -- three different people?”
Wilson replied, “That’s a possibility.”