Topeka ? Taking advantage of an unusual process, 42 people have applied to be the city’s next mayor, including a legislator, ex-city officials and a professional clown.

The nine-member City Council will decide who will follow Acting Mayor Duane Pomeroy, himself a council member filling in for former Mayor Butch Felker. A Shawnee County judge suspended Felker from office in October over allegations of campaign finance violations, and Felker later resigned.

The application deadline was Wednesday, with any resident who was a registered voter eligible. No fee or signatures on petitions were required, only a letter stating how the applicant would improve the city.

The council planned to interview the candidates Tuesday and pick one Dec. 30.

Among the hopefuls was state Sen. Bill Bunten, who lost the 2001 mayor’s race to Felker. Others candidates included John Arnold, the city’s former chief administrative officer; James McClinton, a former council member; and Jack Alexander, a former city water commissioner and former member of the utility-regulating Kansas Corporation Commission.

Another candidate was substitute teacher Gerald Loney, who also works as a clown under the name “JR Juggles.”

The last applicant was Clara Gamache, a mother of six who works for a telemarketing firm and hoped to bring creative ideas to city government.

“I’ve always had a deep interest in politics,” Gamache said. “I’ve lived all over the United States and seen all kinds of governments.”

Of Kansas’ 626 cities, 557 elect mayors at large and have city councils, as Topeka does, according to the League of Kansas Municipalities. But most elevate the council’s leader when the mayor’s job becomes vacant, then fill the council vacancy, said Sandy Jacquot, the league’s general counsel.