Council Has Until July 11 To Choose Unseld's Successor

by Gabe BullardThe Louisville Metro Council will begin the process of filling Councilman George Unseld's seat next week.Unseld died last Thursday. Residents of his 6th District have until this Friday at 5pm to apply to fill his seat. The council will then interview applicants and vote on a successor. This will be the third time the council has filled a vacancy, and the body typically chooses a successor from the same party as the previous council member. Unseld was a Democrat.The new councilmember must be appointed by July 11th. Majority caucus spokesperson Tony Hyatt says the appointee will then face a special election in November."In the case of an appointment or filling an unexpired term, voters have to have a say in the next general election," he says. "Since the primary process has been bypassed already, my understanding is that both the Democratic and Republican parties here locally will have to endorse a candidate."The winner of the special election will serve the remaining two years of Unseld's term. An election for a full four-year term will be held in 2012.