The Holmes Beach City Commission began its latest iteration only a day after the Nov. 8 general election.
City clerk Stacey Johnston Nov. 9 swore Mayor Judy Titsworth and Commissioners Daniel Diggins and Greg Kerchner into office after the election season ended in anticlimactic fashion.
No one challenged Titsworth, who began her tenure with the city as a commissioner 2012-18 and will now serve a third two-year term as mayor.
Newcomers Diggins and Kerchner faced competition from incumbent Commissioner Jayne Christenson until she withdrew from the race in October, citing challenges with her “work/life balance.”
Christenson’s withdrawal left the newcomers without challengers and, while her name was on the ballot, there was no tally from the election. Diggins and Kerchner were sworn in without the need to wait for certified election results.
Diggins had challenged for a commission appointment in 2016 but did not win.
Kerchner has served the city’s planning commission since 2019 and oversaw revisions of the city’s comprehensive plan.
“I’m absolutely excited. I wish I would have won with the vote of the people but I’ll take a win any way I can get it,” Kerchner told The Islander Nov. 11. “And we’ve got some challenges ahead of us already, so I’m looking forward to it.”
They take the seats of Christenson and Kim Rash, who did not seek reelection.
Others on the dais expressed excitement for the board’s latest iteration during the Nov. 9 organizational meeting.
“Now maybe we can get through things without a bunch of arguments,” Commissioner Pat Morton said at the Nov. 9 organizational meeting.
Titsworth said she is looking forward to working with a “team.”
The board also unanimously voted to rename Carol Soustek as chair.
Commissioner Terry Schaefer was renamed deputy chair after his nomination went unchallenged.
Despite the lack of a local competition, the city’s electorate turned up to the polls for election day.
Out of 2,685 registered voters in voting precinct 303, which covers the city, 1,955 voted in the general election, according to the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Office.
Overall, the number equates to a 72.8% voter turnout for the precinct.
Almost half of the votes, 947 out of 1,955, were cast on election day, while 822 people voted by mail and 186 voted early.
The mayor is paid $27,120 annually.
Commissioners earn a $7,819.92 annual stipend.
The city commission was set to meet Nov. 15, at city hall, 5801 Marina Drive.