Everglades City mayor, council members to retain seats unchallenged

An election for mayor and two City Council seats that was scheduled to occur on Tuesday, will not be held because only the incumbents filed to run in the election.

Mayor Sammy Hamilton and council members Tammy Smallwood and David Loving will all retain their seats. Under Florida law, a candidate is automatically declared the winner if he is the only one to qualify for an election.

This will be Smallwood's third term and Loving's second term. Council members are paid $30 per council meeting.

Hamilton has been mayor since 1995. He previously served from 1976 to 1980. He sat on the City Council from 1968 to 1976. The mayor's term lasts two years and pays $5,000 annually.

Loving said he was looking forward to his second term.

"Everything seems to be going pretty good right now," Loving said. "I'm really happy with the way everyone is working together."

Loving said he takes the fact that no one ran against him, Smallwood or Hamilton as a sign that everyone is happy with the job Everglades City government is doing.

"When I qualified (for the election) everyone I talked to was happy about the job we were doing," Loving said.

The city's main challenges in the next few years will be managing growth and improving Everglades Airpark, Loving said.

Hamilton and Smallwood could not be reached for comment.