ANNA MARIA – Kathleen Morgan and Gary McMullen are the newest members of the city commission.
On Jan. 25, commissioners Mark Short, Jon Crane and Charlie Salem appointed Morgan and McMullen to fill the city commission seats previously vacated by Robert Kingan and Deanie Sebring.
When making the appointments, the three sitting commissioners individually ranked the two candidates according to their personal preferences. Short, Crane and Salem each listed Morgan as their top choice and McMullen as their second choice, with Crane participating by phone.
The rankings were based in part on the 31 questions Morgan and McMullen answered during a candidate forum held at city hall on Jan. 11.
After the rankings were announced, Morgan was given the option to serve the remainder of the two-year term vacated by Kingan that expires after the November 2025 elections, or the remainder of the two-year term vacated by Sebring that expires later this year, after the November 2024 elections.
While completing the remaining months of Sebring’s vacated term, McMullen can seek election to a full two-year term in November if he so desires.
After the appointments were made, City Clerk LeAnne Addy administered the oath of office to the two new commissioners.
“It feels good to have a full commission again,” Short said as the new commissioners took their seats on the commission dais and participated in the remainder of the meeting.
The reconfigured commission will meet next on Thursday, Feb. 8.
In early December, candidate Sharon Wisniewski withdrew her application. In late December, three additional candidates – John Kolojeski, Pat Olesen and Susan Stephen – said they withdrew their applications to avoid being potentially subjected to the State of Florida’s expanded Form 6 financial disclosure requirements that now apply to elected city officials.
