A special election is on the horizon to determine who will fill Ward 5 Councilman Kabir Karriem’s seat.
Karriem officially won election to the Mississippi House of Representatives District 41 seat in the Nov. 3 general election. He ran unopposed.
Karriem will be required to vacate his city council seat before he assumes his duties as the District 41 representative in January. He said he intends to remain on the council until the end of the year.
“I think I officially have a few more meetings to make sure that we finish a few projects and look at some of the things we’ve started pertaining to policies inside the police department,” Karriem said. “Even though I’m going on to Jackson to represent House District 41, I still want to play an important role in the community. The city of Columbus sits directly in the middle of District 41, and when you start talking about safety, crime and quality of life issues, those are my main concerns.”
Karriem’s term expires in 2017.
Once Karriem’s seat is vacated, the mayor and council will have to determine a date for Ward 5 residents to vote on who will serve for the rest of his term.
According to Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-857, the city will have to determine a date for a special election at the next regular meeting after Karriem vacates his seat or at a specially called meeting within 10 business days of the new vacancy. An election is required to be held between 30 and 45 days of when the council sets an order to hold it.
Karriem said he does not know who will ultimately end up vying for the position, but there could be a crowded field.
“I think there’s going to be a lot of people trying to garner the position,” he said. “I see people passing out cards already.”
In the meantime, Karriem said he hopes to finish up some ongoing projects before he steps down from the council. Notably, he pointed to a committee the council created Tuesday to review Columbus Police Department’s special operations group. Karriem, along with Ward 1 Councilman Gene Taylor, volunteered to participate in the committee.
“I think that’s something we’ll be able to get done and hopefully have a report ready by the end of the year,” Karriem said.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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