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Yankeetown gets date for special election: Aug. 29

Two days after Gov. Bush declares a state of emergency, campaigns for three vacant council seats gear up.

By ELENA LESLEY
Published July 15, 2006

YANKEETOWN - The date is set for a special election to fill three vacant council seats.

Voting in the warring hamlet will be held Aug. 29, Levy County Elections Supervisor Connie Asbell said Friday.

The announcement came two days after Gov. Jeb Bush declared a state of emergency in Yankeetown.

In his proclamation, Gov. Bush instructed the town to hold a special election within 60 days. The resignations of three council members have left town government in a stalemate, with the council unable to approve new members or hire staff because it doesn't have a quorum.

A proposed resort hotel on the Withlacoochee River caused a rift among residents, which eventually prompted the exodus of officials and staff.

Dissent has threatened "to create an atmosphere of lawlessness, civil unrest and mob violence," read the letter from Bush's office.

Residents can register for the election either in Bronson or online at www.votelevy.com until July 31.

Candidates must file their paperwork in Bronson between Aug. 7 at noon and Aug. 11 at noon, Asbell said.

Residents will vote for three candidates using touch screens in Yankeetown.

Though declaration of a state of emergency is rare, governors have had to intervene in other Florida cities - big and small.

Gov. Lawton Chiles declared Miami in a state of financial emergency in 1996, and South Bay, a small agricultural community in South Florida, received the same designation in 2005.

Miami had amassed a significant deficit, and South Bay's finances were so chaotic it stopped paying its bills.

But while South Bay had struggled to avoid state intervention, many Yankeetown residents cheered Wednesday's news, calling the special election a "triumph for democracy."

Campaigns for the three council seats are already gearing up.

"We were ecstatic," said resident Ed Candela of the governor's declaration.

"All those letters and phone calls made a difference."

Elena Lesley can be reached at 564-3627 or elesley@sptimes.com.

[Last modified July 14, 2006, 19:48:41]