The El Dorado City Council will have what is sure to be a somber discussion when city officials convene for a regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. today in the Council Chamber of City Hall.
Council members will review options for filling the Ward 3, Position 2 seat which was left vacant last week by the unexpected death of council member Tony Henry at the age of 58.
Henry had been filling the unexpired term of former council member Kensel Spivey, who resigned in June.
He had been elected to the position during the May 22 preferential primaries and was to have been sworn in for a two-year term in January.
Henry was initially voted into the Ward 3, Position 2 seat during a special election in 2009 to fill a vacancy that had been left by the passing of then-council member Jimmy Reed.
Henry was re-elected to the post twice before vacating the seat in an unsuccessful bid for mayor in 2014.
In late 2017, Henry announced his candidacy for mayor, but he withdrew from the race earlier this year after learning that Spivey intended to resign due to an upcoming wedding and move from Ward 3 in June.
He opted to pursue his former council post and won it in May.
City Attorney Henry Kinslow cited a state statute that calls for the council to elect an alderman to serve an unexpired term when a vacancy occurs in first-class cities with a population of less than 20,000.
Cities of the first class in Arkansas have a population of at least 2,500.
A majority vote must be taken during the first regular meeting after the vacancy occurs, per state statute.
The person elected the council shall be a resident of the ward in which the vacancy occurs.
Henry’s funeral will be held at 2 p.m. Friday in the El Dorado Municipal Auditorium, 100 W. Eighth. Public viewing is scheduled from 1 until 5 p.m. today and 8 until 11:30 a.m. Friday at Andrews Funeral Home, 1211 E. Main.
Tia Lyons may be contacted at 870-862-6611 or by email at [email protected] .