Albany’s City Commission announces Special Election date set to fill vacant Ward 2 seat of former Commissioner Jalen Johnson

ALBANY, Ga. – A timeline to fill another vacancy on the Albany City Commission was announced early Thursday afternoon.

CBS 44’s Brian Roche has more.

Earlier this year, Jalen Johnson announced his resignation from the Albany City Commission, representing Ward 2.

Ward 1 Commissioner, Jon Howard tells us he’s been trying to field the concerns of those in Ward 2 in the meantime.

“My constituents are in East Albany and I get numerous calls from individuals in Ward 2. So, I have to sort of share myself with my constituents and the citizens in Ward 2 as well,” said Jon Howard, Ward 1 Commissioner, City of Albany.

However, that vacancy could now be filled by the official start of summer as the city announced the timeline for a special election for Ward 2 on June 17th.

Getting the timeline out for the Ward 2 Special Election is crucial, as when we spoke with Mayor, Bo Dorough about how this can impact the city commission’s ability to pass resolutions.

“There’s some legislation resolution and ordinance in our state that require that we have a we have a four-to-three vote. But, unfortunately, if elected officials don’t want to see an agenda item pass, then we don’t have the votes to do it,” said Commissioner Howard.

And… Commissioner Howard is also encouraging people from Ward 2 to register for the Special Election.

“For the citizens that live in Ward 2 make sure that, if you’re not a registered voter, go and get out to vote. Make sure you go and register in the same time and attend some type of town hall meeting when the candidate’s is going to come before the public to address some issues of why they’re running,” said Commissioner Howard.

The registration for the Ward 2 Special Election will take place from Wednesday, April 2nd to Friday April 9th.

Brian Roche reporting.

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