The City of Milford announced there would not be a special election on June 13, 2026, for the Ward 3 council seat that opened when Councilman Michael Stewart’s term expired in May. Stewart chose not to run for a second term.
The election was cancelled as no nominating positions were submitted for the seat. This means that no one registered to run for the open seat for the second time. A solicitation of candidates notice will be reposted and a second special election scheduled at a later date.
A candidate does not have to be a property owner to run for a council seat. Renters are eligible to run as long as they meet all other criteria for the seat. In order to run, an individual must be a citizen of the United States of America. They must be a bona fide resident of Ward 3 and must have continuously resided in that ward for a period of one year preceding the day of the election. A bona fide resident is an individual that has established a genuine, permanent and primary home in a specific ward. It legally requires the candidate to both physically live in the ward and possess a sincere, long-term intent to live there. A renter who has lived in their rental property for one year, or who lived at another address in the same ward before moving to their current address in Ward 3, is considered a bona fide resident.
The individual must also be over the age of 18, not convicted of a felony, and provide the qualifying number of signatures on a petition in order to file. A background check is required with a criminal history record from the State Bureau of Identification.
If elected, a council member is expected to attend council meetings as well as meetings of committees they are assigned to by the mayor after they are sworn in. All meetings are public although council does have the right to recess into executive session to discuss matters permitted to be discussed in private by state law.
Full duties and responsibilities of City Council can be found on the city website.
