Who’s running for office in the tri-county area?

Who’s running for office in the tri-county area?

By MELISSA BURNSED

Across the tri-county area, local elections and the candidates who will be vying to represent their fellow citizens are taking center stage. With just four months until the summer primary in August, incumbents and those trying to unseat them have already begun the process of competing for offices ranging from sheriff, to county commissioner, tax collector and school board superintendent.

For voters in Baker, Bradford and Union Counties the field of candidates includes some likely heated races and others where the incumbents are unopposed. The resignation of well regarded incumbents have also given a viable opportunity to several first time office seekers.

Official qualifying for all county offices will get underway June16 at noon and run through noon on June 20. While candidates can qualify to run by paying fees, last week was the deadline to qualify by petition.

It can be costly for candidates seeking office unless they opt for the petition qualifying route. By collecting a small percentage of registered voter signatures, those running can bypass expensive qualifying fees and just pay a small fee instead. Since the state law was changed several years ago, the vast majority of office contenders have pursued the petition process.

With that in mind a look at who has turned in the required petition paperwork, gives voters a clear look at those running for office in the tri-county area. The following is the latest available information from the supervision of elections offices in all three counties.

BAKER COUNTY (contested offices)

SHERIFF
Joey B. Dobson D-Incumbent
Gregory A. Bohannon R
Timothy W. Smith I

SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS (open)
Vincent D. Ferreira
Sherrie Raulerson

COUNTY COMMISSION DISTRICT 1
Julia B. Combs R-Incumbent
Michael R. Crews R
Phillip Jefferson D

(unopposed incumbents thus far)

COUNTY COMMISSION DISTRICT 3
Gordon Crews

COUNTY COMMISSION DISTRICT 5
Mark Hartley

SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS
Nita D. Crawford

TAX COLLECTOR
Gene Harvey

CLERK OF THE COURT
Al Fraser

PROPERTY APPRAISER
Tim Sweat

SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICT 1
Earl Dwight Crews

SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICT 5
Patricia C. Weeks

BRADFORD COUNTY (contested offices)

SHERIFF (open)
David Barnes R
Michael Juliano R
Gordon Smith D
Randall Zipperer D

SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS (open)
James E. Biggs D
Evelyn Chastain R
Rellen Clark D
Beth Moore R
Linda Sheffield R

COUNTY COMMISSION DISTRICT 1
Ross Chandler D Incumbent
Malcolm Hill (NPA)

COUNTY COMMISSION DISTRICT 3 (open)
Roy Hart D
Chuck Morrow R
Mark Santiago R
Dan Sikes R

COUNTY COMMISSION DISTRICT 5
Eddie Lewis D Incumbent
Bruce Scott R

SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICT 4
Braxton L. Britt Jr. (NPA)
Vivian Chappell (NPA)

(unopposed incumbents thus far)

SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS
Terry Vaughn D

TAX COLLECTOR
Teila Pearson D

CLERK OF THE COURT
Ray Norman D

PROPERTY APPRAISER
Jimmy Alvarez D

SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICT 3
Randy Jones (NPA)

UNION COUNTY (contested offices)

SHERIFF
Jerry Whitehead R Incumbent
Ronnie Pinkston R

COUNTY COMMISSION DISTRICT 1
Karen Cossey D Incumbent
Stephanie Hendricks Christmas D

COUNTY COMMISSION DISTRICT 3 (open)
Hardy Clyatt D
Bobby Davis D
Perry Kent D
John Rimes III D
James Tallman R
Sidney Todd D
Martie Touchstone D
Doyle Williams D

SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS
Debbie Osbourne D Incumbent
Duane Archer D

(unopposed incumbents thus far)

PROPERTY APPRAISER
Steven Saunders D Incumbent

SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
Carlton Faulk D

COUNTY COMMISSION DISTRICT 5
Ricky Jenkins D

TAX COLLECTOR
Patsy Elixson D

CLERK OF THE COURT
Regina Parrish D

SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICT 2
Alvin Griffis

SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICT 4
Sandra Floyd

ALSO ON THE BALLOT STATE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE
DISTRICT 2 (open)

Janet Adkins R
Damon Fernandez (WRI)