The filing period for City of Bemidji Elected Officers will begin at 8 a.m. Tuesday, May 19, and end on Tuesday, June 2 at 5 p.m.
There are five of the seven council seats up for re-election, including Ward 1, currently occupied by Michael Meehlhause; Ward 2, vacant; Ward 3, occupied by Ron Johnson; Ward 5, which Nancy Erickson currently holds. Also up for grabs is the Mayor’s position, a two-year term.
Current Mayor Rita Albrecht does not plan to seek re-election, as she is pursuing the Senate District 5 seat against incumbent Republican Justin Eichorn.
The rest of the council serves four-year terms. Ward 2 will be a special election: if two people file, the election will be held in conjunction with the statewide primary in August. If more than two people run, it will serve as a primary with the general election held in conjunction with the General Election this November.
In a first, the city will accept electronic candidate filing, in a law passed for elections this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The filing officer must accept electronic submissions of affidavits of candidacy, nominating petitions including petition signatures collected electronically, and requests that write-in candidates be counted. There is a $5 filing fee, and questions can be submitted to the City Clerk Michelle Miller.
