If you’ve been thinking about running for mayor or one of the four open Peachtree City council posts, time is running out to mull it over.
The city’s qualifying period begins Monday at 8:30 a.m. at City Hall.
Up for grabs are the mayor’s seat, four-year terms on the Post 3 and Post 4 seats and a little more than two years on the Post 2 seat.
While a field of five have congregated with previous announcements to seek the mayor’s spot, only one candidate has announced for each of the other council seats. Retiree Mike King has chosen the Post 2 race for the shortened term, incumbent Councilmember Kim Learnard will seek re-election for her Post 3 seat and former Peachtree City police captain Terry Ernst will seek the Post 4 seat.
While the field is slim for council, Peachtree City doesn’t have a shortage of mayoral aspirants. Incumbent mayor Don Haddix is facing a challenge from current Councilmembers Vanessa Fleisch and George Dienhart, former mayor Harold Logsdon and local businessman Ryan Jolly.
Dienhart is abdicating the two years and change left on his Post 2 seat and Fleisch is declining to seek re-election to her current Post 4 seat. She is allowed to finish her term on council because even if she wins the mayor’s race, her term expires before she would be sworn in as mayor.
With a field of five, however, the only thing that’s a near certainty is the need for a runoff election on Dec. 3.
With five candidates in the field, it’s quite unlikely one of them will garner 50 percent of the vote. A runoff election would pit the two top vote-getters against each other.
The qualifying period ends Friday at 4:30 p.m.
To run for mayor or a council seat, candidates must be at least 21 years old and a qualified elector (registered voter) who has lived in the city for at least six months immediately preceding the election. Peachtree City’s mayor and city council members serve at large, meaning there are no restrictions on where they live in the city relative to the seat for which they run.
To qualify, a candidate must submit the completed notice of candidacy and affidavit specifying which seat they are seeking and pay the qualifying fee at city hall. The qualifying fee for the office of mayor is $270, and the fee for all city council posts is $180. Information packets, including the necessary forms, are available at city hall.
