Eight people have submitted letters of interest seeking to fill the vacant Mt. Carmel City Commissioner’s seat held by Rod Rodriguez. Rodriguez recently announced his intention to resign his seat from the council and last night submitted a formal letter of resignation to Mayor Joe Judge.

Judge said the eight candidates are Chandler Madden, Don Kensell, Jaleigh Lashbrook, Susan Zimmerman, Rick Johnston, Molly Wood, Shawn Storckman, and Mark Seaton. Of the eight, only Madden, Kensell, and Lashbrook ran for city council in this past April’s election with Madden being the leading vote-getter of those three. Judge explained last night the next step in the process to fill the vacancy…

After the interviews are complete, Judge said he will make a recommendation to the city council which will either approve or reject. The new commissioner will serve until a special election is held in April of 2021 to fill the remainder of Rodriguez’s four-year term that expires in May of 2023. Rodriguez said last night his resignation from the council will be effective December 31st.

Mayor Joe Judge and Commissioner Rod Rodriguez shake hands after Rodriguez submitted his formal letter of resignation at Monday’s meeting.