Terrance Freeman is officially on his way out of Jacksonville City Hall, and the race to replace him is on the clock.
Freeman, the At-Large Group 1 member of the Jacksonville City Council, has submitted his resignation so he can run for the Florida House. He turned in his paperwork on May 28 and set Monday, November 2, 2026 as his last day in office. That move triggers one of the first local special elections of the 2026 cycle and puts would-be candidates under pressure to quickly decide whether to collect petition signatures or pony up the qualifying fee.
Special election dates, qualifying and fees
According to a press release from the Duval County Supervisor of Elections, the City Council signed off on resolution 2026-474-A, calling a Special First Consolidated Government Election for Tuesday, August 18, 2026 to fill the At-Large Group 1 vacancy. If no one clears 50 percent plus one in that round, a Special General Election (runoff) is set for Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
The elections office says the qualifying window runs from noon June 11 through noon June 12. Candidates can make the August ballot by turning in 1,855 valid petitions. For those skipping the clipboard route, qualifying fees are set at $3,408.24 for partisan candidates and $2,272.16 for candidates with no party affiliation.
Freeman’s resignation and timeline
Freeman formally submitted his resignation to Supervisor Jerry Holland on May 28 and listed November 2, 2026 as the effective date in the paperwork filed with the elections office. In the letter, which was made public by Jacksonville Today, he pointed to his work on public safety, workforce initiatives and apprenticeship programs, writing that “Serving the people of Duval County on the Jacksonville City Council has been the honor of a lifetime.”
Why he had to file a resignation
Freeman’s timing tracks with Florida’s “resign-to-run” law. Section 99.012 requires an elected official whose current term would overlap the term of the new office to submit an irrevocable resignation at least 10 days before the first day of qualifying.
The statute also says the resignation has to include an effective date and that the office is considered vacant on that date. The Duval elections office relied on that rule in building out the special election calendar.
How this reshuffles the local map
Freeman launched his bid for Florida House District 12 in October 2025, filing paperwork with the Division of Elections, according to local coverage by Action News Jax. Jacksonville Today reports he is currently the only active candidate in that race.
His City Hall résumé gives him some built-in name ID as this special election takes shape. Freeman was appointed to the council in 2018, won the at-large seat in 2019 and secured re-election in 2023, according to his profile on the City of Jacksonville website.
Next steps and what to watch
From here, the calendar is tight and unforgiving. Prospective candidates face that narrow qualifying window in mid-June and have to choose between gathering 1,855 valid petitions or paying the fee to land on the August 18 ballot, per the Duval County Supervisor of Elections.
With Freeman’s November 2 departure date locked in, local political watchers will be tracking who jumps in quickly, how crowded the field for the at-large seat becomes and whether August produces a clear majority winner or sets up a November runoff that could shake up both the City Council lineup and the House District 12 contest.
