Four have applied to fill Hall’s vacancy on Prescott City Council

Deadline for applications is Aug. 10

With about a week to go in the application process, four people have so far expressed interest in being appointed to the Prescott City Council position vacated by former Councilwoman Jessica Hall.

On Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 3, Prescott City Clerk Sarah Siep reported that her office had received applications from four people: Steven Schmidt, Tom Reilly, Gary Freed, and Connie Cantelme.

The city opened up the application process on Wednesday, July 27 – the day after the Prescott City Council approved the process for filling the council vacancy.

During their Tuesday, July 26 meeting, council members agreed that the appointment would run through November 2023, and that the final two years of Hall’s term (through 2025) would be decided by the voters during the 2023 city election.

The City Charter also gave the council the option of making an appointment for the entire remainder of Hall’s term, but council members voted unanimously to make the shorter appointment and let the voters decide who should fill the second half of the term.

Hall, who was sworn into office in November 2021, announced on July 12, 2022 that she intended to resign from her position, effective July 25.

Applications are due to the City Clerk’s office by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 10. The application form is available at https://www.prescott-az.gov/city-management/leadership/council/.

Applications are expected to be reviewed by the City Council in closed-door executive session on Tuesday, Aug. 16, at which time the council will select the candidates to be interviewed at a special meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 23.

It is the intent of the City Council to have the selected candidate sworn into office at the Tuesday, Sept. 13 voting meeting.

More information about the vacancy is available on the city’s website at https://www.prescott-az.gov/, or by calling the City Clerk’s Office at 928-777-1437.

Follow Cindy Barks on Twitter @Cindy_Barks. Reach her at 928-445-3333, ext. 2034, or cbarks@prescottaz.com.