Latest news with #Ocala
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Let's try this again: Ballots are set for city of Ocala elections
Two of the four upcoming Ocala City Council races are settled. The qualifying period was originally July 7-11. However, there was a hiccup, and no candidate properly completed the process. A new qualifying period was set by elected officials at their July 15 meeting. Here's what we know: Which two races are completed? District 1 and 3. City Council members Barry Mansfield for District 1 and Jim Hilty for District 5 have no challengers, so they retain their seats. Who are the candidates for the other races? Incumbent Mayor Ben Marciano faces a challenge from Zackary Feliciano. Mark William Clark and TamBoura Jenkins are challenging District 3 incumbent Jay Musleh. City officials said Neil J. Gillespie did not qualify for failure to have enough petition signatures. When was the qualifying period? It began 8 a.m. July 16 and ended July 18 at noon. How do candidates qualify to be on the ballot? Potential candidates must obtain 25 valid petition signatures and pay a fee: $66 for mayor and $24 for council. The fee is equivalent to 1 percent of the salary. When is the election? Sept. 16, with early voting set for Sept. 11-13. With early voting, voters can vote from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. at the Supervisors of Elections Office, 981 NE 16th St. On Election Day, polls in Ocala will be open 7 a.m.-7 p.m. How many registered voters are in the city limits? There were 33,260 as of July 1. What's the cost for the election? The cost is $47,185.43, according to the elections office. To date, the city hasn't paid the funds and won't do so until after everyone is qualified, officials said. Have any of the candidates raised any funds for their campaigns so far? No. The previous cash raised by candidates cannot be used for the election, officials said. Election: None of the candidates for the city of Ocala election qualified. Here's what happens next About the jobs The mayor serves a two-year term with a salary of $550 per month. Council members serve four-year terms and are paid $200 per month. All races are non-partisan. Council meetings are held the first and third Tuesday of every month at 4 p.m. Though the mayoral job is mostly ceremonial, the mayor has veto power and oversees the police department. Contact Austin L. Miller at This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: No hiccups this time: City of Ocala ballots are set Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
City of Ocala election back on after all candidates fail to initially qualify
Ocala city officials have set a new qualifying date for the city's election this fall after all candidates initially failed to qualify due to issues with their qualifying fee payments. At their regularly scheduled City Council meeting on July 15, officials unanimously voted to have the qualifying period run from 8 a.m. July 16, to noon July 18. Between now and the deadline, candidates can file their paperwork. Not everyone in attendance, however, agreed with the decision. Mark Clark, who is running for the Ocala City Council District 3 seat currently held by Jay Musleh, told council members during public comment that most of the council members — Jim Hilty, Barry Mansfield and Musleh — should recuse themselves from the process because they all have something to gain. Both Mansfield, the District 1 representative, and Hilty, who represents District 5, were running unopposed following the initial July 11 qualifying deadline. Musleh, however, who initially planned to vacate his seat, has since decided to run for re-election in District 3 following the qualifying issues. Local news: One of three brothers killed in three-vehicle crash in Marion Oaks Musleh told a Star-Banner reporter on July 14 that he viewed the qualifying issues as a sign that he should enter the race. City Attorney William Sexton told the council members they were OK to vote on the issue since they will not lose or gain anything with their participation. Though TamBoura Jenkins, another District 3 candidate, was in the audience, he elected not to speak. Also present was Marion County Supervisor of Elections Wesley Wilcox. Outside council chambers, Clark told a Star-Banner reporter he has filed his documents and opened his campaign account. "I'm ready to go. I'm still going to run. I've committed donors and I love this community," he said. When asked by a Star-Banner reporter if he agreed with Clark's opinion that some of the council members should have recused themselves from the vote, Jenkins said "no." "We're all in the same boat. Let's get it done," he said. The seven candidates who submitted their names and documents for the upcoming city of Ocala election in September by the initial July 11 deadline, all failed to comply with the "requirements of Florida law as it pertains to the payment of their qualifying fee." Specifically, city officials said candidates had "to pay the qualifying fee using a properly, executed check drawn from their campaign account." The check also must include the "campaign account name, account number and bank name, exact amount, treasurer's signature, purpose of the expenditure, and the payee's name." "None of the seven candidates met all of these criteria," officials said. The candidates included mayoral hopefuls incumbent Ben Marciano and challengers Zackary Feliciano and Neil J. Gillespie, Clark and Jenkins for the District 3 seat, and incumbents Mansfield in District 1 and Hilty in District 5. The election will still be held on Sept. 16, with early voting set for Sept. 11-13. According to the Supervisor of Elections Office website, as of July 1, there were 33,260 registered voters in the city of Ocala. Contact Austin L. Miller at This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: City of Ocala 2025 election back on with qualifying set for July 16-18
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
All seven candidates for Ocala mayor, council fail to qualify
All seven candidates for Ocala mayor and city council did not qualify for the September general election. The candidates include three incumbents like Mayor Ben Marciano, Councilman Barry Mansfield, and Councilman James Hilty. The city says candidates paid the required qualification fee. However, their payments did not meet state requirements. Now, the city is forced to re-start qualification for a special election. So, what happened? It all started with 20-year-old mayoral candidate Zackary Feliciano and another candidate turning in their qualification fee Friday. 'I turned in a cashier's check,' Felciano said. City Clerk Angel Jacobs informed Felciano and the other candidate she did not believe the city could take that form of payment per election law. But while sorting through what state law says about payments, the city found it could not accept any of the payments from all seven candidates. 'They found other deficiencies as well,' Wesley Wilcox, Marion County Election Supervisor. 'For all of them?,' Channel 9 asked. 'All of them,' Wilcox said. In a statement, the city pointed to Florida law which 'requires candidates to pay the qualifying fee using a properly, executed check drawn from their campaign account.' The check must also include 'the campaign account name, account number and bank name, exact amount, treasurer's signature, purpose of the payment.' Candidates found out their payments did not qualify after the qualification deadline Friday at noon. Councilman James Hilty Sr. tells Channel 9 his payment was disqualified because he did not put a note in the memo of the check. He says he did everything else correctly, including paying with a check drawn from his campaign account. 'it's pretty upsetting, I take it personally, mine was minor,' Hilty said, adding the confusion amongst the candidates was an 'honest mistake.' Wilcox says it's up to the qualifying officer to verify if the payments candidates are making meet state requirements. For Ocala City elections, the qualifying officer is the city clerk, Angel Jacobs. Jacobs declined to interview. 'Why wasn't this noticed before?,' Channel 9 asked. 'It should have been,' Wilcox replied. Wilcox says issues with payments are typically noticed before the deadline; however, it was not noticed in Ocala until after the qualification deadline. Council voted Tuesday to set the qualification deadline for the new special election for this Friday at noon. The special election will be held on September 16, the same day as the originally scheduled general election. Wilcox says he is working with all city clerks in Marion County to clarify instructions to so all interested candidates can understand requirements and qualify for the election of their choosing. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Yahoo
Woman shoots at deputy with secret gun in her pants while handcuffed in back seat
A 22-year-old accused of shooting at a deputy while handcuffed is now in the Marion County Jail. Deputies said Rheanna Harden was 'flexible' enough to grab a gun from her pants and open fire as she was inside of a deputy cruiser. The Marion County Sheriff's office said the incident began with a traffic stop in Summerfield before 2:30 a.m. on Monday. According to the Sheriff's Office, a deputy arrested Harden for driving with a suspended license, providing a fake ID to law enforcement and for possessing drugs. According to the Sheriff's Office, even though Harden was handcuffed behind her back, and patted down before her arrest, she was able to shoot at a deputy using a small caliber handgun hidden in her pants. The Sheriff's Office said a bullet grazed the deputy, but he is already out of the hospital. Despite losing control of his vehicle and crashing it into a utility pole, the Sheriff's office said the deputy managed to get out of his vehicle and return fire. The shooting happened in the 2900 block of South Pine Avenue in Ocala. 'It's scary to know what could have happened if she had a better shot,' said Valerie Strong, Public Information Officer with the Marion County Sheriff's Office, 'We're just very thankful that he only received a graze and he's going to be able to go home to his family.' Strong told Channel 9 Harden was shot in the shoulder and hip area. She was taken to the hospital but released Monday afternoon and booked into the Marion County Jail. Court records obtained by Channel 9 shows Harden has tried to run from police before. Harden's criminal history dates to at least 2020 where she's accused of leading a Florida Highway Patrol Trooper on a chase in Bay County. Harden faced charges including grand theft of a motor vehicle, aggravated fleeing with injury or damage, and possession of cocaine related to that case. She was also arrested in 2022 on charges of fleeing and eluding police, possession synthetic marijuana, and carrying a concealed firearm. According to Department of Corrections records, Harden was sentenced to more than two years in prison on those charges and was released on July 1, 2024. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is now investigating the Marion County Crash and Harden is likely to face additional charges related to Monday's Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'Teacher,' 'Companion': Grade 1 Winner Forbidden Apple Dies At 30
'Teacher,' 'Companion': Grade 1 Winner Forbidden Apple Dies At 30 originally appeared on Paulick Report. The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF) is deeply saddened to share the passing of Forbidden Apple, a cherished 30-year-old member of the TRF herd. Forbidden Apple was humanely euthanized on Monday, June 16, due to the infirmities of old age. Arriving at the TRF's Second Chances Program at Lowell Correctional Facility in Ocala, Florida on Aug. 2, 2013, Forbidden Apple spent the last 12 years of his life teaching, healing, and inspiring the incarcerated women of Lowell, who cared for him daily.A Grade 1 winner with lifetime earnings of $1.6 million, Forbidden Apple made 31 career starts, including three appearances in the prestigious Breeders' Cup Mile. Known for his brilliance on the turf, Forbidden Apple raced with heart and consistency, earning his place among racing's elite. His time after racing was just as important as his time on the track. At Lowell, Forbidden Apple, affectionately known as 'Apple,' quickly became a favorite among Second Chances Program students and staff. His gentle demeanor, playful nature, and deep love for treats and grooming brushes made him both a teacher and a companion to all who knew in all the right ways, Forbidden Apple enjoyed a peaceful retirement, surrounded by people who loved and cared for him every day. Whether trotting across the pasture or gently nosing a brush from a student's pocket, Forbidden Apple found a forever place in the hearts of everyone he Apple lived a long and meaningful life, filled with success, love, and sanctity. The TRF family is especially grateful for the years he spent at Lowell, gently guiding and teaching the women in our Second Chances Program, and being a steady, four-legged friend to all who knew him. To learn more about the TRF Second Chances Program or to support the care of horses like Forbidden Apple, please visit: TRF: Founded in 1983, the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation is a national organization devoted to dignified lifetime care for retired Thoroughbred racehorses. As the oldest Thoroughbred rescue in the country, the TRF provides sanctuary to retired Thoroughbreds throughout their entire known for its pioneering TRF Second Chances program, the organization provides incarcerated individuals with vocational training through its accredited equine care and stable management program. At seven correctional facilities across the country this program offers second careers to its horses and a second chance at life for inmates upon release from cares for approximately 400 rescued and retired Thoroughbreds at Second Chances prison farms and Sanctuary Farms across the country. The organization is funded entirely by private donations. The TRF is accredited by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance and has a Platinum rating with Guide Star. For more information visit: This story was originally reported by Paulick Report on Jun 20, 2025, where it first appeared.
