Candidate Filing Opens for Kearney City Election

Filing for candidacy in Kearney’s annual City election will open on Tuesday, December 10, 2024, at 8 am. and close on Tuesday, December 31, 2024, at 5 pm, following Missouri law 115.127.5 RSMo. The election will take place on April 8, 2025.

This year’s ballot will determine representatives for the Kearney Board of Aldermen, with one member to be elected from Ward 1 and one from Ward 2, each for a two-year term. Residents interested in running for these positions can file their candidacy with the City Clerk at Kearney City Hall, 100 E. Washington Street, during standard business hours, Monday through Friday from 8 am to 5 pm. City offices will be closed on December 24 and December 25 in observance of the holidays.

To qualify as a candidate for Alderman, individuals must be at least 18 years old, a citizen of the United States, and have lived in Kearney for at least one year prior to the election. Candidates must also reside in the ward they seek to represent both at the time of filing and during their term if elected. In addition, all candidates for municipal office must be registered voters according to Missouri state law and Kearney’s City Code. Anyone delinquent in paying state income, personal property, municipal, or real property taxes on their declared residence is ineligible to run. Those who are or were corporate officers of any fee office owing taxes to the state are also ineligible.

State law further requires that no candidate’s name will appear on the official ballot unless a written, signed, and sworn Declaration of Candidacy is filed with the City Clerk by the deadline. Candidates who have been convicted of or pled guilty to a felony or certain misdemeanors under federal or state law are barred from seeking municipal office, including offenses in other states that would be considered felonies in Missouri.

For more information about filing procedures or candidate qualifications, prospective candidates are encouraged to contact City Clerk Sheila Ernzen by email at sernzen@kearneymo.us, by phone at 816-903-4738, or visit the City’s website at www.kearneymo.us.

KPGZ News – Brian Watts contributed to this story.