Few contested races so far in city elections

Qualifying in city elections across the midstate moved at a slow pace in the first two days.

There were few contested races by the end of qualifying on Tuesday in Warner Robins, Centerville, Perry, Byron, Gray, Forsyth, Roberta and Colluden. Qualifying runs through Friday in most of the cities. The election will be held Nov. 7.

In Warner Robins, Post 3 Councilman Keith Lauritsen was the only qualifier on Tuesday. That leaves the mayor’s race and the Post 1 council seat as the only contested races. Joe Musselwhite is opposing incumbent Randy Toms for mayor, while Jim Taylor and Jeffery Walker are the only candidates to qualify for Chuck Shaheen’s Post 1 at-large seat.

Dean Cowart, who served on Warner Robins City Council for 12 years previously, had said he was running for Chuck Shaheen’s Post 1 seat. At Monday’s council meeting however, Cowart stated he has changed his mind due to issues related to his job and will not be seeking office. Shaheen has not qualified.

Councilman Clifford Holmes is the only qualifier for his seat.

In Centerville, the only qualifier Tuesday was Justin Wright, a preacher who is seeking the Post 2 seat held by Randall Wright, who has not yet qualified. Mayor John Harley and Post 1 Councilman Cameron Andrews have qualified. Centerville’s qualifying ends Wednesday.

In Byron, Councilman Michael Chumbley had qualified to retain his Post 3 seat, drawing opposition from Farrell Bass, a former councilman. Post 5 Councilman Alan Dorsey qualified Tuesday while Post 4 Councilman Michael Chidester has not qualified.

In Roberta, Mayor Becky Smith qualified. Charles Cook, a retiree, qualified to run for the Post 1 council seat held by B.J. Bassett. Bobby Joe Daniel qualified to run for the Post 2 seat held by Ervin Patton. Neither Basset nor Patton had qualified by Tuesday.

In Gray, Mayor Pro Tem Ed Barbee, Councilman David Tufts and Councilman Benny Gray had qualified. Mayor Stephen Tingen, Councilman Terry Favors and Councilman Terrell Fulford had not qualified. No challengers have qualified.

In Perry, Mayor Jimmy Faircloth, Councilwoman Phylis Bynum-Grace, Councilman Robert Jones and Councilman Randall Walker remain the only qualifiers.

In Forsyth, Post 2 Councilman Chris Hewett and Post 6 Councilman Mike Dodd have qualified. Post 5 Councilman Julius Stroud III has not, and no challengers have qualified.

Colluden has three alderman positions up for election and incumbent Margie Bryant is the only person to have qualified.

Monroe County also has two special elections to fill vacant seats. Randy Gonzalez, who works for Mid Georgia Wrecker Service, qualified to run for County Commission District 4, while no one had qualified to fill the vacant District 2 school board seat.

This story was originally published August 22, 2017 at 6:17 PM with the headline "Few contested races so far in city elections."