POLK COUNTY – To be eligible to run for the mayor and town council seats for Polk County’s three towns, the requirements are to be over the age of 21 and to be a legally registered voter in the city limits of the municipality for the office being sought, according to the Polk County Board of Elections.

Filing for the 2017 municipal election begins this Friday, July 7 at noon and ends on Friday, July 21 at noon.

The filing fee to run is $5, including to run for mayor or a council member.

There are several seats open this year in the towns of Columbus and Tryon and City of Saluda, including the mayor seat in all three municipalities.

In Columbus, the mayor and three of four council seats are up for re-election.

In Saluda, the mayor and two of four council seats are up for re-election.

And in Tryon, the mayor’s seat and two regular council seats are up for re-election, along with a third seat that was vacated two years early by former commissioner Roy Miller. Miller’s seat will be up for re-election this year, but for a two-year term, to finish out the remainder of Miller’s term, which was not up until 2019.

Tryon has a mayor and four council members.

Besides Miller’s seat, all other council seats run for four-year terms, with the top vote getters receiving four-year terms and the last receiving two-year terms.

There is no primary held for municipal elections and the race is non-partisan for municipalities.

The general municipal election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 7.

Filing for the election can be done at the Polk County Board of Elections, located on the second floor of the Womack building in Columbus. The office is open from 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.