09.27
Election qualification for LaFayette City Council Ward 2 will end Wednesday afternoon. Ward 2 is qualifying separately from Wards 3 and 4 because it wasn’t vacated by now ex-councilman Norm Hodge until the September council meeting. Fortunately there’s still time to include Ward 2 candidates on the November 8th ballot, avoiding the costs of a special election. Here are the Ward 2 candidates who have qualified as of noon Tuesday:
Ward 2 Candidates:
Since qualification isn’t done, the list of candidates may change. Check back Wednesday evening or early Thursday for the complete lineup.
Candidates for Ward 3, Ward 4, and the at-large ward qualified during late August. Ward 3’s current occupant, Bill Craig, isn’t running, neither is Ward 4 Councilman Eric Tallent. At-large councilor Wayne Swanson requalified for his position but has no opposition.
Ward 3 Candidates:
- Chris Hollis
- Judy Meeks
- Jerry Rogers
- Stacey Suttle
Ward 4 Candidates:
- Melvin Bridges
- Chris Davis
- Joe Daniel DeBoard
- Donnie McGaha
- Kevin Robinson
At-Large Candidates:
- Wayne Swanson (Incumbent)
Four-way and five-way campaigns for the 3rd and 4th wards should make for an interesting race, and will probably lead to a run-off election in December since it will be nearly impossible for any one candidate in those races to get more than 50% of the vote. Also making it interesting, candidates Meeks and Bridges have both served on the council before, giving their opponents plenty of voting history to refer to.
Links to candidate’s Facebook profiles are included when possible. The Underground is attempting to contact every candidate in a competitive race (sorry Wayne) to conduct an e-mail interview; if you’re a candidate, please e-mail the LU so we can e-mail you back, if you haven’t already.
Readers, what would you ask this year’s City Council candidates? If you have a question, post it in comments below. We’ll pass the best ones on to the candidates along with our own questions for an upcoming series of articles. Candidates, we ask that you NOT try to answer questions directly or in comments; to be fair no candidate should see their opponents’ answers before the articles run here. Interviews will be sent out at the end of the week; we hope to have responses up several weeks before the vote.
If you’re old enough to vote but not registered, please register before the October 11th deadline. To find out your voting status please visit the Georgia My Voter Page or see/call the Walker County Elections Office. Mail-in ballots for absentees or early-voting can also be requested at the Elections Office, and in-person early voting will begin there on October the 18th. Absentee ballots must be requested at LaFayette City Hall.