Three new faces will appear on the Key West city commission dais for the special meeting on Monday, Aug. 26, but commissioner Clayton Lopez will continue to represent District 6 until November.
The two candidates seeking to succeed Lopez — Aaron Castillo and Marci Rose — will face each other in the general election, as neither of them secured 50% plus one vote in the Aug. 20 primary election.
Castillo, a funeral director, was born and raised in Key West and owns Key West Mortuary. Rose, an attorney, has lived in Bahama Village for more than 30 years.
Both candidates complimented each other on their “clean” campaign that did not include attack ads like those leveled in the county commission race for District 5 by Melissa Ptomey, who challenged but lost to incumbent Holly Raschein.
In District 1, Monica Haskell easily defeated Ben Hennington in their race to succeed former mayor and commissioner Jimmy Weekley.
The other two new faces include incoming commissioner Donie Lee, who ran unopposed for commissioner Billy Wardlow’s seat and incoming Mayor Dee Dee Henriquez, who ran unopposed to replace Teri Johnston, who decided not to seek reelection.
The new officials will be sworn in at noon on Monday, Aug. 26 at city hall and will get to work that evening, when a special meeting will take place to determine whether the newly assembled commission votes to rehire city manager Al Childress, who was fired in late June by four commissioners, three of whom would not return to the commission after the election.
City Commission District 1
Monica Haskell — 643 votes (77.66%)
Ben Hennington — 185 votes (22.34%)
City Commission District 6
Aaron Castillo — 474 votes (49.84%)
Marci Rose — 378 votes (39.75%)
