Council will give the measure its first reading tonight and it becomes effective after the second reading scheduled for March 13.
The Mayor, council members from districts 1, 3 and 5 and a commissioner of public works will be contested in the unprecedented mid-summer election. The incumbents are Mayor Rick Danner and council members Jay Arrowood (District 1), Kimberly Bookert (District 3) and Wryley Bettis (District 5). Perry Williams, commissioner for Greer Commission of Public Works, will also have his position up for re-election.
Candidates can file for the contested offices beginning noon on March 21 through noon of April 20. A statement of candidacy of the seat or office the individual is seeking will be filed with the City Clerk and an electronically filed Statement of Economic interest must be submitted with the State Ethics Commission.
The city of Greer postponed the general election scheduled for Nov. 8 last year to allow council to redraw the boundaries of the districts to reflect changes in the population based on the 2010 census. The U.S. Department of Justice notified the city on Feb. 6 it would not object to the 2011 redistricting plan and revised maps of the contested districts. Redistricting occurs every 10 years based on each decade's census data.
The election can't be held in June since the state primary is June 12 and runoffs on June 26.