There are eight people seeking an at-large seat on the Fort Dodge City Council in the upcoming special election cycle, but Councilman Andy Fritz is not one of them.

Fritz holds the seat that will be filled in the Feb. 7 vote, but he opted not to try to retain it.

He was appointed to the seat on Oct. 24 to fill the unexpired term of Councilman Neven Conrad, who resigned after being named the magistrate of Humboldt County.

He was appointed because he had served on the council for 10 years previously.

“For lack of a better word, I was retired, but I came back to help some people and now I’m just ready to be retired again,” he said Friday evening.

His appointment would have been for the remainder of a term which expires at the end of 2023. However, a petition signed by 440 residents forced a special election for the seat.

Because of the large number of candidates in the race, a primary election will be held Jan. 10 to trim the field to two who will advance to the Feb. 7 special election.

Fritz said he expects the winner of the special election will be sworn into office in February and his tenure on the council will end at that time.

He said he will not endorse anyone in the special election.

The at-large seat will be on the November 2023 ballot, so the winner of the special election will serve less than a year.

FD council election field set

The deadline for filing nominating petitions for the Fort Dodge City Council special election was 5 p.m. Friday.

These are the candidates who filed petitions by that deadline.

• Kyrie Borsay

• Steven Hansen

• Richard Higgins

• Wayne Mason

• Zach Moore

• Eugene Newsome

• Megan Secor

• Jim Seward

A primary election will be held Jan. 10 to narrow the field to two candidates.

The general election will held Feb. 7.

The winner of the general election take office in February, replacing Councilman Andy Fritz who was appointed in October to fill a vacancy when Councilman Neven Conrad resigned.

The winner of the general election will serve through the end of next year.

The at-large seat will be on the November 2023 ballot, with the winner of that vote serving a full four-year term.