By Peter Covino
Lifestyles Editor

The general election in Kissimmee is not until Aug. 14, but for Kissimmee Mayor Jim Swan the only thing he will have to worry about on Election Day is voting.

The incumbent mayor will serve another term as mayor since he has no opposition in the city’s general election. Election qualifying ended last Friday.

Swan’s new term will run until 2016.

“It’s an extraordinary honor to serve the citizens of this community,” Swan said this week. “I am thankful to be able to do it.”

The current mayor and former Osceola County commissioner and chairman, said he had been prepared to run his campaign if he had any opposition.

“I was prepared to go forward no matter what happened,” Swan said. But now the mayor just needs to remove what few campaign signs are still on lawns in the city.

He has also begun the process of refunding contributions to those who contributed to his campaign.

While Swan is now assured of four more years in office, the city will have two new city commissioners in November. Nine Kissimmee residents have qualified for the two commission seats.

Running for commission seat No. 1 are Dave Scherer, Jose Alvarez, Robert Secrest and Debra Rosado. Running for seat No. 2 are Mike DeLong, Hector Rodriguez, Jaime Matos, Druvonda Woods, Carmelo E. Garcia and Sara Shaw.

A run-off election, if necessary, will be held Tuesday, Nov. 6.

You can listen to the candidates at a debate at Kissimmee City Hall Thursday, June 21.

The event is from 5 to 7 p.m. at the commission chambers. The debate also will be taped for cable TV’s Access Osceola.

Looking ahead, Swan said he hoped his second term in office will see the city moving forward on the projects already in place.

The Lakefront Park project and planned road projects are two priorities that he would like to see completed over the next four years.

Other priorities include Sun Rail, the Greater Orlando commuter rail project, as well as improvements to the Vine Street corridor.

“I would like the readiness to be done on those this term, but they probably won’t get implemented until after I’m gone,” he said.

“The city is in pretty good financial shape compared to most communities in the state,” Swan said. “We have been very conservative with tax dollars and we didn’t go through the massive layoffs other communities had.”

The city’s decent financial shape means the city should be able to continue with the projects the commission has deemed a priority, he said.

Currently, St. Cloud Mayor Rebecca Borders (seat 1) and Council Member Russell Holmes (seat 3) are running unopposed in the St. Cloud city election, but potential candidates have until the third week of August to qualify for the council seats.

The St. Cloud city elections are now held on Election Day, Nov. 6. The election terms for the council seats and mayor and are now also four years instead of two years.

For a complete list of the candidates running for election in Osceola County, go to www.voteosceola.com.

Most of the candidates in the local elections, as well as candidates for state and federal offices, will be at the Kissimmee/Osceola Chamber of Commerce Hob Nob Thursday, July 19 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Kissimmee Civic Center.

The Hob Nob, which attracts thousands of residents, includes a straw ballot, an opportunity to meet the candidates and food and beverages.

Advance tickets for the event are $15 ($20 day of the event). Call the chamber at 407-847-3174 for more information.