Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Oconee Candidate Forums Set for June 2 & 4

Meet the Candidates at the Library

A consortium of Oconee County citizen groups announced yesterday that it will hold two Candidate Forums for the July 15 Oconee County primary elections.

The first Forum will be on June 2 and will be for candidates for the Board of Commissioners, including the chairman, and for Coroner.

The second forum will be on June 4 and will be for candidates for the Board of Education.

Both forums will be in the auditorium of the Oconee County Library on Experiment Station Road in Watkinsville. The forums will start at 7 p.m. and last until 10 p.m.

Only Republicans filed for and qualified for the Oconee Board of Commissioner slots.

Sarah Bell and Melvin Davis, both with Watkinsville mailing addresses, are seeking the four-year term of Commission Chairman. Davis is the incumbent.

Jim Luke and Johnny Pritchett have qualified for the four-year term of Post #1 Commissioner. Luke has a Bogart mailing address; Pritchett has a Bishop mailing address. Luke is the incumbent.

John Daniell and Donald "Don" Norris have qualified for the two-year term of Post #2 Commissioner. Daniell has a Bishop mailing address, and Norris has a Bogart mailing address. Norris is the incumbent.

Margaret Hale and Esther Porter qualified for the two-year term of Post #3 Commissioner. Both have Watkinsville mailing addresses. Hale is the incumbent.

Chuck Horton and Michael Maxey qualified for the four-year term of Post #4 Commissioner. Horton has a Watkinsville mailing address; Maxey has a Bishop mailing address. Horton is the incumbent.

Three Republicans also have qualified for the Coroner position: Ed Carson (Bishop), Bill Mayberry (Watkinsville), and Cathleen Quillian-Carr (Watkinsville). Incumbent John Simpson is not running for re-election. The position is for four years.

Ten Republicans have qualified for the Board of Education races.

David Weeks (Bishop mailing address) qualified for the Chairman of the Board. He is unopposed for the four-year term. He currently occupies Post #3 on the Board.

Mack Guest (Athens mailing address) and Ryan House (Bishop mailing address) qualified for the Post #2 position. The term will be for two-years. Guest is the incumbent.

Kim Argo, Carter Brank and Ashley Hood qualified for the Post #3 position. Argo and Brank have Bogart mailing addresses; Hood has a Bishop mailing address. The term will be for two years.

Michael Hunter (Bishop mailing address) and Charles Toney (Watkinsville mailing address) qualified for the Post #4 position. The term will be for four years.

Tom Breedlove (Bogart mailing address) and Kyle Martin (Watkinsville mailing address) qualified for the Post #5 position. The terms will be for four years.

Rich Clark qualified as a Democratic candidate for the Post #5 position. He has a Watkinsville mailing address.

Each of these candidates will be asked to attend or send a representative to the appropriate Candidate Forum. The forums will be open to the public, and the public will have the opportunity to ask questions directly of the candidates.

The Candidate Forums will be moderated by members of the five citizen organizations that set up the forums: Citizens for Oconee’s Future, Citizens for South Oconee County, Friends of Barber Creek, Friends of the Apalachee, and Oconee Citizens for Responsible Growth.

The consortium held a Candidate Forum in 2006 for the Georgia House and Senate races. Citizens for Oconee’s Future organized a forum for the 2004 county elections.

Registration in Georgia is not by party, so anyone can choose to vote in the Republican primary.

If none of the three candidates for coroner or none of the three candidates for Board of Education Post #3 receives a majority, a runoff will be held on August 5.

A voter who voted in the Democratic Primary in July 15 cannot vote in the Republican runoff on August 5, and a voters who voted in the Republican Primary on July 15 cannot vote in a Democratic runoff on August 5.

Five Democratic candidates have filed to run against Republican incumbent U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss.

Incumbent state Senator Bill Cowsert will be opposed in the Republic Primary on July 15 by Tommy Malcom.

Three Oconee County incumbents are unopposed in the Republican Primary. They are Scott Berry (Sheriff), Angela Watson (Clerk of Superior Court), and Hariette Browning (Tax Commissioner). No one has filed to run against District Attorney Ken Mauldin, a Democrat.

Independents have until July 8 to file as candidates for the November 4 election.

The deadline for voter registration prior to the July 15 Primary is June 16.

Two of the four Oconee Board of Commissioner Posts and two of the four Oconee School Board positions will be filled for two years rather than four in November because the state legislature passed legislation--at the request of the two bodies--to create staggered terms. All terms will be for four years in the future.