Charlie Cave of Fayetteville qualified as the only opposition to current Post 4 school board member Bob Todd in the Republican primary.
Four political newcomers, including one Democrat, have thrown their hats into the ring for the July 20 primary by today’s noon deadline.
Charlie Cave of Fayetteville qualified as the only opposition to current Post 4 school board member Bob Todd in the Republican primary.
For the Post 5 school board seat being vacated by Lee Wright, Sam Tolbert of Fayetteville qualified for the Republicans while Dr. Laura Burgess of Fayetteville qualified as a Democrat in the Post 5 race; that means barring success of a write-in candidate Tolbert and Burgess will face off in the November general election.
Sitting Post 5 county commissioner Eric Maxwell will also face a challenge from Fayetteville’s Allen McCarty in the Republican primary.
The most hotly contested race, however, may be the three-way battle for the Post 4 county commission seat between incumbent Jack Smith, former Peachtree City Mayor Steve Brown and former County Commissioner Harold Bost.
Qualifying ended at noon Friday, per state law.
McCarty, who lives on Lees Mill Road, told The Citizen Friday that he wants to see more transparency in county government and he wants the county to halt the West Fayetteville Bypass and instead pursue an eastern Fayetteville bypass. McCarty said the west Fayetteville bypass is directly affecting the property of one of his neighbors.
The Citizen has left phone messages for school board candidates Cave and Tolbert this afternoon seeking comment.
In a statement faxed to The Citizen this morning, Fayette County School Board Member Lee Wright said he would not seek re-election to his Post 5 seat.
Wright, who is finishing his second term on the school board this year, said in a statement that he decided not to run due to “competing personal and professional interests.”
Fayette County’s board of education and county commission seats are voted on at-large, meaning that every resident in the county may vote in each race, regardless of the district the voter resides in.
Candidates for the board of education posts are required to live in the district in which they are running for office. Candidates for the county commission posts may reside anywhere in the county because both are at-large positions.
The primary election, in which voters must choose a ballot for a particular party to select their candidate for each race, will be July 20. The general election is Nov. 2 where both parties’ top vote-getters will square off along with any independent candidates who might qualify.
