By Samantha Sinclair
Staff Writer
CANON — The special election to fill a city council vacancy is Tuesday, with early voting concluding Friday.
The vacancy was caused by the passing of Mayor Ray Morgan earlier this year.
The only contested race Tuesday is to fill the unexpired term of Council Member Annie Rice Wallace, who is currently serving as acting mayor.
She is running unopposed to fill Morgan’s unexpired term, and will be the city’s first female mayor.
William Ricky Minish and John Cullen Morgan are running to fill Wallace’s council seat.
Cullen Morgan is the former mayor’s son and has run for city council in the past, while Minish is a newcomer to politics who has lived in Canon for more than 30 years.
On Tuesday, voting will take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Canon City Hall.
Early voting continues today and Friday from 8 a.m to 4:30 p.m. at the Franklin County Elections and Registration Office in Carnesville.
As of Wednesday morning, no one had voted early in the election according to Elections Supervisor Gina Banister. Canon has 470 registered voters.
The election is to fill the mayor’s post and council seat for the remainder of their terms.
A city ordinance states that in the event there is a vacancy in the position of mayor or council member for more than three months of an unexpired term, a special election must be held to fill the seat.
Both seats, as well as another council seat, will be up for reelection in November, with qualifying in August.