Paris unopposed as BOC chairman
A total of eight candidates have qualified to run for county government and school board positions in the upcoming May 24 primary election. Qualifying for the primary ran from Monday, March 7, to Friday, March 11.
Local items on the ballot include Board of Commissioners Chairman, Post 2 Commissioner and two school board seats. Georgia governor and secretary of state will also be on the ballot. Charlie Paris, Gilmer County’s incumbent commission chairman, will be unopposed in the election as he was the only candidate who qualified to run for that position.
Three candidates — Gary Engel, John Marshall and Tom Whatley — qualified to run for Post 2 Commissioner. Current Post 2 Commissioner Karleen Ferguson is not seeking re-election.
Michael Bramlett (incumbent) and Michele Penland qualified to run for Board of Education (BOE) Post 4, while Jacob Callihan and Sam Snider qualified to run for BOE Post 5.
Ronald Cheslock, Michael Bushey and Blake Hoffman all qualified to run for the Limestone Valley Conservation Board, although that item will not appear on ballots until the Nov. 8 election.
The four candidates for county commission seats are all Republican. No Democratic Party candidates qualified, confirmed the Gilmer Registrar’s Office. School board elections are considered non-partisan.
Six have qualified for Georgia’s Ninth Congressional District Representative race. Five Republican candidates — incumbent Andrew Clyde, Michael Boggus, J. Gregory Howard, John London and Benjamin Souther — and one Democratic candidate, Michael Ford, will appear on the primary ballot.
Early voting will begin May 2 and last until May 20, confirmed Chief Registrar Tammy Watkins.
Early voting can be done at the voter registrar’s office, 1 Broad Street, from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. There will also be two Saturday voting opportunities on May 7 and 14, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., noted Watkins.
The last day to register to vote in the May 24 primary is Monday, April 25.
The Gilmer Chamber is planning a candidate’s forum for Monday, April 11, 6:30 p.m., at the Piedmont Community Center, 824 Industrial Boulevard.