POINT PLEASANT — The City of Point Pleasant’s Republican Committee has announced its convention to nominate candidates for the upcoming city election.

The convention starts at 6 p.m., Feb. 17 in the Mason County Circuit Court courtroom on the third floor of the Mason County Courthouse. The GOP will nominate candidates for placement on the May 8 ballot to serve in various positions in city government for the next four years. These four-year terms begin on July 1.

The terms of all current city officials will end on June 30 — this includes, the positions of mayor, city clerk, council members from the eight wards and two at-large council seats.

Currently, the GOP has a stronghold when it comes to city government. Mayor Brian Billings, City Clerk Amber Tatterson, Council Members Marshall Bonecutter (First Ward), Robert Doeffinger (Second Ward), M. Leota Sang (Third Ward), Elaine G. Hunt (Fifth Ward), Linda Smith (Sixth Ward), Barbara A. Brown (Eighth Ward) and Councilman At Large Gary Cotton, are all Republicans. Councilman William Park (Fourth Ward) and Councilman At Large James Bowles are Democrats while Councilman Sam Juniper (Seventh Ward) is an Independent.

This year’s city election is the first of its kind in that it will be held on the same day as the county’s May primary and will be included on the county’s ballot. Voters voted in this charter to get the city election in sync with the county election schedule.

Though an amount has not been set or agreed upon, the city will be paying the county for a portion of the election costs. The proposal of changing the charter was touted as a cost-cutting measure. When it comes to election costs, though, it remains unclear what that savings will ultimately be.

The City of Point Pleasant’s Democratic Committee hasn’t announced the particulars of its convention yet, but once that information becomes available, the Point Pleasant Register will announce the details. In order to meet deadline for the May 8 primary in regard to candidates and ballot language, the city conventions and nominations from both parties are expected to take place by the end of this month.