(Missoula Current) Six applicants submitted an application on Thursday to fill an open seat on the Missoula City Council representing Ward 2.

One of the applications was late, though the city determined that its own website had issues and a local Internet outage were to blame. As a result, they accepted the candidate's application.

“We received one application that was four minutes late,” said City Clerk Marty Rehbein. “We learned that the applicant tried to submit his application prior to the deadline, but he (and his neighborhood) experienced Internet connectivity issues midday.”

In an email, Rehbein said the candidate's email reached the city's inbox just after the deadline. She didn't disclose who the candidate was.

“In addition, the city had technical difficulties where the Ward 2 vacancy website and the application were difficult to locate over most of the past weekend,” Rehbein added. “Because of these factors, and in the spirit of trying to find the best representation possible for Ward 2, council president (Gwen) Jones has directed our office to place all applications we received forward for the council’s consideration.”

With the application window now closed, members of the City Council will select among six applicants to replace Jordan Hess. Hess was appointed the city's new mayor last week. He proved to be a consistent moderate voter with strong Democratic leanings.

The six applicants include Charles Shane, a 5-year resident of the city who currently works with Missoula County; Derek Hitt, a 4-year resident of the city who's a journeyman carpenter; and John Rowan, a 28-year resident of the city who works at Partners in Home Care.

The other three applicants include Rebecca Dawson, an 8-year resident of the city who works at Deals on Wheels; Sierra Farmer, a 25-year resident of the city who works at the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation; and Teigan Avery, a 6-year resident of the city who works at the Ranch Club Golf Course.

As in past City Council vacancies, each council member will have an opportunity to nominate a single individual. Interviews of those selected will take place next week, after which the council will appoint one applicant to fill Hess' seat.

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