End of candidate qualifications yields handful of city council challengers

Posted Tuesday, August 27, 2019 11:00 pm

With the time period for candidate qualifications drawn to a close, only a handful of municipal-level races are slated for Bartow County this autumn. But the stage has been set for two mayoral contests, as well as competition for a smattering of city council seats throughout the community.

Incumbent Matt Santini announced he was running for re-election as the mayor of Cartersville several weeks ago. Challenging him at the ballot boxes this fall are Nicole Butler and Barbara Jackson, the latter of whom was defeated by Santini in the 2017 mayoral election 1,062 votes to 98.

Meanwhile, three Cartersville City Council members — ward 2 representative Jayce Stepp, ward 4 representative Calvin Cooley and ward 6 representative Taff Wren — were the only individuals qualifying for said seats, meaning they will run unopposed this November.

Elsewhere in the county, White Mayor Kim Billue Dupree will face competition from David J. King — the City’s former police chief, who drew national headlines when he was arrested by Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents on charges of theft by extortion in 2016.

The two faced off for the same seat in 2017, in a contest that saw Dupree edge out King 94 votes to 73.

In the same municipality, incumbent council members Charles Buttrum and Ryan Evans are both up for re-election, with Norman Gary Crisp throwing his hat into the ring as an at-large challenger — of the three, the top two vote-getters will officially join, or rejoin, the city council ranks.

With Councilman Craig Guyton foregoing a third term in Euharlee, it’ll be three candidates vying for two seats on the city council. Incumbent David Duncan qualified last week, as did challengers Tim Abbott and Michael W. Troxell. As the case in White, the two candidates with the most votes will ultimately have their names plastered on the placards at the city hall chambers.

One current member of the Emerson City Council, Gerald Earwood, did not qualify for this year’s election. That creates another three-man race for two council seats in south Bartow, with incumbent Vincent Wiley joined by challengers Corey Sanford and Charles Lowry, a previous member of the city council.

Incumbent Al Pallone was the only candidate to qualify for mayor, setting him up to run unopposed at the ballots in November.

There will be no turnover at all in Adairsville, as incumbent Kenneth Carson was the only candidate to qualify for mayor. Current council members Alan Towe and Erwin Holcomb — representing posts 1 and 2, respectively — are also set to run unopposed in this fall’s municipal elections.

In Kingston, Post 2 Councilman Larry Posey did not qualify for re-election. That effectively gives Michael McFarland, the only person to qualify for the seat, a de facto victory; Post 3 Councilman Payton Silvers, an incumbent, will also face no competition come this autumn.

Nor is anyone seeking to unseat the municipality’s sole qualifier for mayor — incumbent Elbert “Chuck” Wise, Jr.

Meanwhile, Mitchell T. Bagley will run unopposed for mayor of Taylorsville, while incumbents Linda Lou Cantrell and Eddie Newman were the sole qualifiers for the city council.

This year’s general election is scheduled for Nov. 5. The deadline for voter registration is Oct. 7.