An Aug. 8 date is set for an election to determine the next mayor of Pass Christian.

The city’s board of aldermen set the date and three candidates have stepped forward to run for the seat left vacant when Billy McDonald resigned July 1.

Mayor pro tem Chipper McDermott is one of the candidates. McDermott has been running the day-to-day operations of the city since McDonald’s resignation, which ended months of tension between the mayor and the aldermen.

The aldermen were set to vote on reducing his salary by half because they were frustrated with his job performance.

The 70-year-old McDonald said his decision to step down was based on “continuing health issues,” which he attributed on previous occasions to dangerously high blood pressure.

Joining McDermott as a candidate for mayor is Margaret Jean Kalif, who served 12 years on the Pass Christian Board of Aldermen, and Alice Russell who served six years on the Pass Christian Planning and Development Commission and worked in the city’s tax and water departments.