Qualifying for municipal races is almost complete, and Union and Newton will both be holding elections, as each city has competition for at least one race.
In a bit of a surprise, long-time Alderman Michael Hillie is facing opposition in Ward 1. His challenger is Tracy Beal, who also qualified as a Democrat. That means there will be a primary election in April.
So far, the only other persons to qualify are Bob Bridges as independent in Ward 2 and Eric McCalphia as a Democrat in Ward 3. City Clerk Charlene Evans said Karri “Kitt” Silva has submitted paperwork to run as an independent, but Evans is awaiting word to see if all of Silva’s signatures are valid.
There are no candidates for Mayor of Ward 4 as of Tuesday.
The qualification requirements are $10 to qualify as a Democrat or as independents with 15 valid signatures within their ward and 50 valid signatures for mayor.
Union
Union now has competition for two alderman positions in addition to Mayor.
In Ward 5, Ricky Sistrunk and Zach Robinson both qualified as Republicans while Billie McCune as a Democrat.
In Ward 2, Robert Blount and Vince McElhenney both qualified as Republicans.
Currently, Union has two people qualified for the mayor’s position. Rex Germany, who is currently serving as Ward 2 alderman, and John Evans have both qualified as republicans. That means there will be a primary election on April 6.
Other candidates who have qualified in Union include Ward 1 incumbent Paul Lowery, Ward 3 incumbent Billy J. McCune and Ward 4 incumbent Harvey Hickmon.
City Clerk Tammy Ferguson said that interested candidates have until Feb. 5 to qualify for the election. Anyone interested in running for office in Union must be a resident and pay a $10 fee to run as a Republican or Democrat. You can also run as an independent if you obtain a petition with 15 signatures of qualified voters in your ward or 50 valid signatures to run for mayor.
Decatur
Incumbents Danny Cherry and Michael Harris both qualified to run for re-election. They joined Phil Sutphin who qualified for reelection to Alderman Ward 5.
City Clerk Brenda Harper said Decatur residents who a registered to vote and have no criminal record that wish to run for office need to pick up paper work at Town Hall. They would need 15 registered voters to sign paperwork within their ward, preferably would get 20 signatures in case one or more of the signatures is from a non-registered voter and would cause disqualification.
Candidates for mayor would need 50 signatures from within the city.
Hickory
Michael Evans has qualified for mayor as a Democrat. Previously Carolyn Burks had qualified for Mayor. No one has qualified for any alderman position.
Town Clerk said Joyce Johnson said prospective candidates must live within city limits for six months or more, be a registered voter and fill out paperwork at Town Hall. They must have criminal record or have committed any disenfranchisement crimes. Republican must get 15 signatures to qualify.
Lake
In the Town of Lake, Paul F. Tadlock, Bobby Luckett and Chad Hillman have all qualified to run for aldermen positions.
Sebastopol
In the Town of Sebastopol, Randy Peoples, Renita Wilcher and Jeff Taylor have all qualified for aldermen positions.
All signatures on petitions for independent or special election candidates must be certified by the signer’s circuit or municipal clerk respectively before filing with the appropriate office.
