The Midland City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to hold a special election on May 4 to fill the council seat left vacant following the sudden death of Councilman Dan Corrales.
The city announced Corrales’ death on Jan. 30, he was 45.
Since then, officials have rushed to figure out how to fill Corrales’ seat on the council. He first joined the council in 2022 and had about a year left of his term. Now, whomever wins the special election will serve out the remainder of his term which expires next January.
Midland City Councilman John Norman urged residents to join the city council.
“Don’t be discouraged by what you believe and your morals,” he said. “Be encouraged to get involved in your community and city government. Get out there and fight for what you believe in.”
Following the unanimous vote, Mayor Lori Blong immediately signed the resolution for the special election — opening a three-week filing window to enter the race.
Blong said, there were some concerns raised that this process was moving too fast.
“We actually had a conversation, as council, to talk about should we delay this out of respect for Dan’s passing, is this in poor taste?” But Blong explained, state law requires a special election to be called “within a specific amount of time.”
She also went on to say that this election will ensure that Midland has a full seven-member city council, which she hopes will make residents “feel represented by our leadership.”
The filing deadline to be a candidate in the special election is March 4.
