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Vacated Wichita City Council Seat To Be Filled This Week

Four candidates from District IV will be considered this week for the interim Wichita City Council seat.

Michael O'Donnell vacated his seat on the city council when he was elected to serve in the Kansas State Senate this fall.

Candidates Joshua Blick, Jeff Blubaugh, Paul Gray and Stan Reeser were all nominated by the District IV Advisory Board. Three of the candidates were interviewed last week by the board at a public forum in south Wichita.

Lavonta Williams was among the council members in attendance. Williams says the next step for the council is to interview all four candidates Monday, then for the nominees to address the council Tuesday during the regularly scheduled meeting.

"We will be listening to the candidates give us a five minute presentation on Tuesday telling us why they would like to be in this position and how they can help the city of Wichita," says Williams.

"Then after their presentations, we will vote and come to a conclusion as to who we think would be the best person to fill that position."

The winner will serve temporarily until voters pick a permanent replacement during the April 2 general election.

Carla Eckels is Director of Organizational Culture at KMUW. She produces and hosts the R&B and gospel show Soulsations and brings stories of race and culture to The Range with the monthly segment In the Mix. Carla was inducted into The Kansas African American Museum's Trailblazers Hall of Fame in 2020 for her work in broadcast/journalism.