David Blevins

LIVE OAK — The city council will have three choices for Keith Mixon’s empty seat.

The council will meet at 1 p.m. Monday for a District 5 candidate hearing to fill the vacant position following Mixon’s death Feb. 25. There will be three candidates to choose from as J. Don Allen, David Blevins and Don Boyette all filed applications before Tuesday’s noon deadline.

Allen is a Suwannee High School graduate and a U.S Navy veteran who is the co-owner and operator of The 406 on Duval. He also previously has served as a District Administrator for the Second Congressional District, which includes Tallahassee, and a USDA Food Safety Inspector.

Blevins is also an SHS graduate and a former police officer. He ran against Mixon in last year’s election for the District 5 seat.

The final candidate to apply, Boyette has served on the city council previously. He held the District 5 seat from 1992 to 2008 before not seeking re-election. He has also previously served as the council president.

For any of the three candidates to be appointed, they must garner a majority vote of at least three to one by the council at Monday’s hearing. If a majority cannot be reached, the city will hold a special election to fill the vacancy.

The election must be held 90 days after Monday’s hearing, but before 120 days, according to Fred Koberlein, the city’s attorney.

The supervisor of elections office said it would need at least three months to allow people time to qualify to run and to mail out absentee ballots.