Pastor becomes councilman without opposition

It’s not supposed to be easy to get elected to a city council, especially for someone who has been a resident for less than four years, but Justin Wright breezed into the job last week.

The 31-year-old pastor of Centerville Community Church will become a Centerville City Council member in January. He was the only person to qualify for the Post 2 seat held by Randall Wright, who did not seek re-election. The two are not related.

Justin Wright, who is from Macon and is a Mercer University graduate, said he hoped he would be the only one to qualify but wasn’t counting on it.

He and his wife, a Houston County teacher, moved to Centerville in late 2013 so he could pastor the church, which had only eight members at the time. He now has about 60 people attending services each Sunday.

He sees being on council as an extension of his service with the church.

“Since I was about 16 I’ve been serving in the church,” he said as he sat in his office Thursday, the day after qualifying ended. “Since we’ve been in Centerville, we’ve figured out the best way for us to make this church be better is to serve the community the best we can, and I’ve learned one of the best things we can do is work with our local government and be as engaged as possible.”

One of the first things he did after moving to the city was email Mayor John Harley and ask what the church could do to help the city. The mayor responded that there are a lot of children in the community who rely on free breakfast and lunch at school, and they don’t get those in the summer. So Wright started a summer feeding program for children. Anyone under 18 can come to the church and get a lunch, without any religious teaching to go with it. The church also established a food pantry.

Harley was impressed with the way Wright responded when he told him about the issue.

“He created a wonderful program,” Harley said. “It’s something that the community has really needed. With that type of initiative, I think he is going to make a wonderful person to have on council.”

Wright has been regularly attending council meetings and said he likes the city’s leadership and the direction it is headed. He said his biggest goal is to give residents more reason to stay in the city rather than drive somewhere else for dining and leisure activities. He believes the opening of Center Park and plans for a town center are a big step toward that.

“I think it’s a great time to live in the city of Centerville,” he said. “We are moving in an excellent direction. We are growing.”

Wright is an avid guitar player and performs in a band, called Blues-Berry Jam. They play blues and some Southern rock, and perform for free at the city’s monthly Food Truck Friday at Center Park.

Because there were no contested races, the city will not have to have an election. However, Wright’s seat on council won’t be official until Wednesday when a period expires for potential write-in candidates to come forward, which could force an election. Krista Bedingfield, the election superintendent, said there are requirements that come with such a request, including a petition, so it’s not very likely.

Randall Wright, 70, was first elected to council in 1989 and left for a time when he took a job elsewhere. He has served a total of 22 years on council. He cited “personal reasons” for not running again, but declined any further comment.

“He has been a wonderful advocate for the city,” Harley said.

Harley will be serving his third term starting in January. He said he has believed in not serving longer than two terms, and that’s what he had planned, but he wanted to see Center Park completed.

“I just wanted to follow through with it,” he said.

This story was originally published August 24, 2017 at 4:27 PM with the headline "Pastor becomes councilman without opposition."