The Cullman County Commission is changing, and the upcoming primary election season will determine the makeup of its new look as a five-member body.

Thanks to a 2019 legislative change, the commission’s current three-member structure is expanding.

Under the current, outgoing setup, the commission is made up of a full-time chair and two full-time associate commissioners. Under the new, incoming one, only the chair will remain a full-time position. The current pair of associate commissioner’s seats will give way to four part-time elected positions, with each of the four part-time associates hailing from a different corner of the county.

Those four corners are defined by the intersection of U.S. Highway 278 and U.S. Highway 31 in Cullman, effectively splitting the county into four parts of roughly equal population. Each of those four areas will deliver one of its residents as an associate commissioner.

At least there’s no confusion about which of the four associate seats local voters are eligible to cast a ballot for: By law, every voter in Cullman County can vote in each of the four races — no matter where in the county he or she resides.

Once the new system is in place beyond the current election cycle, all of the commissioner’s seats — including the chair — will be elected to four-year terms. Current commission chairman Jeff Clemons was elected to his position last year, so the recently-filled chairman’s seat won’t be a part of this year’s race.

But, in order to avoid the need for special elections, all four of the new associate commissioner seats will be included on this year’s May 24 primary ballot — even though two of those seats will initially be filled only for two-year terms. When the 2024 election cycle rolls around, all four associate commissioner spots will be up for election once again — and all for full four-year terms.

In this year’s race, all of the associate commissioner candidates are Republicans, which means the winners of the May 24 primary election will face no further opposition in the November general election. Two of the seats are uncontested: Incumbent associate commissioner Kerry Watson faces no opposition in his bid for the newly-created District 1 seat, while Kelly Duke is running unopposed for the new District 3 seat.

The District 2 race fields three candidates: Incumbent associate commissioner Garry Marchman, who faces a challenge from candidates Josh Speakman and Richard Barnett. The most crowded field falls in the new District 4 seat, where five new candidates — Andy Pate, Corey Freeman, Jeremy S. Jackson, Kristi Creel Bain, and Morris L. Williams — all will be vying to become the office’s first-ever occupant.

Both the Republican and Democratic party primary elections will be held on May 24 of this year. Visit the Alabama Secretary of State’s website at https://www.sos.alabama.gov to learn how to register to vote ahead of this year’s primaries.