Municipal elections set

Published 5:12 pm Wednesday, July 22, 2020

The qualifying period is over for candidates for this fall’s municipal elections, and voters will go to the polls on Aug. 25 to decide what new or returning members will be on local city and town councils and the Cullman City School Board for the next four years.

Jenny Folsom is the only current member of the Cullman City Council not to face opposition.

Incumbent Andy Page will face challenger Brad Smith for Place 1; incumbent David Moss Jr. will face challenger Tony Townson for Place 2; incumbent Johnny Cook will face challenger Gwen Parker for Place 3; incumbent Clint Hollingsworth will face challenger Steve Cummings for Place 4.

Mayor Woody Jacobs will face challenger Mark Bussman.

Three elections to the Cullman City School Board will be on the ballot. For Place 2, Chris Branham will face challenger John “Nick” Dumas; and for Place 4, Jason Neal will be challenged by Nathan Haynes. Cheryl Harrison and Scott Sessions will vie for Place 3 after current board member Lee Powell did not qualify.

Incumbent Joey Orr will run unopposed for Place 1, and Amy Carter will run unopposed for Place 5 after current board member Suzanne Harbin did not qualify for re-election.

Most of Good Hope’s elected officials will run unopposed in August, with the exception of one seat on the city council.

Place 2 Councilman Maxie Jones will be challenged by Eric Phillips, while Mayor Jerry Bartlett, Councilman Terry Shabel (Place 1), Councilwoman Susan Eller (Place 3) and Councilmen Greg Brown (Place 4) and Taft Dillashaw (Place 5) have qualified and will run unopposed.

In Hanceville, three-term mayor Kenneth Nail faces no opposition as he seeks a fourth term. There are a pair of contested races to unseat current incumbents on the city council, however.

Challenger Joyce E. Barnett has qualified to appear on the ballot against current council Place 1 incumbent Jimmie Nuss. Council incumbent Charles Wilson also faces a challenge from Patty Nail Dean for the Place 4 seat.

All three remaining council incumbents, which includes John Stam (Place 2), Kim Brown (Place 3), and Jimmy Sawyer (Place 5) have qualified for the Aug. 25 municipal election, and all three will be running unopposed.

There will be five contested elections in Baileyton, with Dewayne Sumner (Place 1) being the only council member to run unopposed.

Mayor Johnny Dyar will face current Town Councilman Windell Calloway in the race for the mayoral seat.

Deborah Moon and Roy Shedd have qualified to run for Place 2, incumbent Wendell Peterson will face Randy Gaines for Place 3, incumbent Myra Martin will be running against Benny Guthrie for Place 4 and incumbent Greg Griffin will be challenged by Pay Dyar for Place 5.

The town of Berlin will not have any elections for the mayoral or council seats, but will be seeing one new council member take his place in the fall.

Mayor Patrick Bates and Councilmen Donald Gunter, Jimbo Quick, Bruce Bentley and Don Bates have qualified for re-election, and Keith Hardman will be joining the council after current member Bud Reed did not qualify.

Colony will only have one election in August as current Mayor Pro Tem Curtis Johnson challenges Mayor Donnis Leeth, but two new faces will run unopposed for seats on the council.

Eric Carwell (Place 1), Samuel Ashford (Place 2) and Ethel Alexander (Place 5) have all qualified for re-election, and Mary Parker (Place 3) and Jasmine Cole (Place 4) will be joining the council as they run unopposed.

Dodge City residents will have three races on the municipal ballot in August.

Mayor Tawana Canada is being challenged by Gerald Turner.

For Place 4 on the council, Inez McDonald will be facing Mark Brannon and for Place 5, Ervin Chumley, J.V. Shelton and Kimberly Searcy will be vying for the seat.

Jason Burney (Place 1), Murray Lowe (Place 2) and Anthony Todd (Place 3) will be running unopposed.

Garden City will only have one contested seat in the upcoming election, with incumbent Patsy Chafin facing challenger Oscar Goodwin for Place 5.

In Holly Pond, there will be a new mayor take her place in August as she runs unopposed for the position. Current Town Councilwoman Carla Hart will be the town’s new mayor after she qualified for the position and current Mayor Bill Oliver did not qualify to run for re-election. 

There will be an election for Place 1 on the council as incumbent Lou Thomas is challenged by Julie Ray. 

Charles Holcomb (Place 2), Paul Brown (Place 4) and Gladys Wisener (Place 5) will run unopposed, and Place 3 on the council had no one qualify to fill the seat. 

South Vinemont will have a few elections on the ballot, including a race for the town’s top position as Mayor Radginal Dodson will be challenged by current Councilwoman Shirley Arnett.

For Place 1 on the council, incumbent Councilwoman JoAnn Oakley will be up against Chris Thompson. Sonya Copeland and Jerry C. Smith, Sr. will be facing each other for Place 5 on the council.

Sonya Mabry Adams (Place 2), J.D. Marcum (Place 3) and Bonnie Goodwin (Place 4) will run unopposed.

The towns of Fairview and West Point will not have any need for an election after their current mayors and council members all qualified with no opposition.

In Fairview, Mayor Keith Henry and council members Charles Banister, Joseph Black, Steve Eddleman, Robert Johnson and Julie Grimes will retain their seats.

In West Point, Mayor Gerald Schafer and council members Darion Daniel, Steve Link, Timmy Smith, Ashlee Phillips and Frankie Jones will run unopposed.

The deadline to register to vote for the Aug. 25 election is Aug. 10, the deadline to submit an absentee ballot application is Aug. 20, and the deadline to hand-deliver an absentee ballot is the close of business on Aug. 24. If an absentee ballot is returned by mail, it must be postmarked by August 24 and received by noon on August 25.

Newly elected officials will be sworn in during their council or board’s November meeting.