Spellerberg nominates Blair Horner for vacant council seat

Fremont Mayor Joey Spellerberg has nominated local resident Blair Horner as his appointment to fill the now-vacant Ward 2 seat on the Fremont City Council.

Spellerberg announced his choice of Horner via the release of the Nov. 28 City Council agenda, noting that there were three applicants who sought appointment to the seat, including former council member Susan Jacobus and local resident and frequent public comment speaker Steven Ray.

“I want to thank all three candidates for applying and their willingness to serve our community. I am recommending to the City Council the appointment of Blair Horner to fill the Ward 2 vacancy,” Spellerberg said to the Tribune in a text message.

“Horner is a servant leader, committed to a positive vision and future for Fremont. He has volunteered with many community organizations and will be a dedicated representative for the citizens of Ward 2. I look forward to working with him in the future,” he added.

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Under Fremont city Municipal Code, if a council member resigns, is removed from office, dies or otherwise cannot continue their duties, the mayor is responsible for choosing an appointed replacement. That candidate is then voted on by the city council during an official meeting.

Currently, two of the existing seven members of the Fremont City Council are appointees of Spellerberg. Horner’s possible appointment would be the third appointee by Spellerberg since September 2021.

Current Ward 3 Council Member James Vaughan was appointed to the council in September 2021, replacing Michael Kuhns. Ward 1 Council Member Tad Dinkins was appointed to the council in January 2023 after Vern Gibson resigned from the council due to health issues and complications from knee surgery.

If approved, Horner would replace Glen Ellis, who resigned from his council seat effective Nov. 2. Ellis cited family health issues, frustration with the city’s administrators and the desire to pursue personal life goals as his main reasons for his resignation.

If chosen, Horner would serve the remaining three years of Ellis’s term, which ends in December 2026.

Horner ran against Ellis in the 2022 City Council election, aiming to unseat his fellow Fremont Creative Collective board member for the Ward 2 seat. Ellis defeated Horner by 205 votes to win his second term in office.

The FCC was invented by Ellis in 2015 as a way to enliven and invigorate the downtown Fremont area, and Horner was a longtime board member of FCC.

Horner is a licensed real estate agent with Don Peterson & Associates, and in past interviews with the Tribune he has stated that he “enjoyed the connections made by Fremont Creative Collective with the entrepreneur community.”

“The intentionality that is needed to find and connect with folks that have an idea, want to pursue that idea, and then working with them to bring that idea to market is very rewarding,” he said in an April 2023 interview. “I suppose this is more an outcome of our service offerings, but it is one of the things I like most about FCC.”

Born and raised in Brooksville, Florida, Horner relocated to Fremont in 2015 with his wife, Jody. The couple has two grown children: Anna, who resides in Fremont, and Sam, who lives in Kansas City.

In his eight years as a Fremont resident, Blair has been involved with the Fremont Kiwanis Club, and is immediate past president; was the Fremont Creative Collective board secretary; and served on the Rebuilding Together Board of Directors as well as served as a Fremont Housing Authority commissioner.

Jody Horner is the president of Midland University, having been hired as the 16th president of the college in December 2014. She and Blair moved to Fremont in early 2015 for the beginning of her new job.

In a 2022 election Q&A with the Tribune, he explained why he wanted to serve on the city council.

“The city has so much potential and I want to be a part of the decision making process that helps shape this city’s future. My leadership style is open and inclusive and I have a track record as an innovative thinker and a consensus builder,” Horner stated in the 2022 interview.

“City council needs more consensus builders in order to move important initiatives forward,” he said. “I will stay focused on fiduciary oversight of the city’s finances and budget, long range plans to ensure our city is safe and livable, supporting the mayor and other resources in attracting investment dollars to our city, supporting local initiatives that lead to the betterment of our city and serving as a link between the citizenry, especially those is Ward 2, and the city government.”

The next meeting of the Fremont City Council is scheduled for 7 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 28, and is hosted in the council chambers on the second floor of the city Municipal Building, 400 E. Military Ave. The last meeting of each month is preceded by a 30-minute public comment session, which starts at 6:30 p.m.

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