Filings for the 2019 municipal election continued to come in Monday, as five more names were added to the list of those seeking 26 local seats that are up for grabs.
Just shy of the close of Monday’s filing period, Neal Strickland, Councilman for District 2 in the City of Clinton, filed for his fifth full term on the Council. Strickland was appointed in the early 2000s to fill the unexpired term of Albert Kaleel. He was elected to his first full term in 2003.
Having served the better part of two decades on Clinton’s Council, Strickland said he, along with his fellow Council members, loves serving Clinton.
“We truly work for the betterment of the city,” Strickland said Monday afternoon, minutes after filing. “We love this city and it shows. I work alongside a great Council and I am proud of the city we serve.”
Early Monday morning, Roseboro Mayor Alice Butler filed for reelection. Butler made history back in 2015 when she became the first female mayor of Roseboro, succeeding longtime mayor David Alexander. Joining Butler in Monday’s filings were Salemburg Mayor Joe Warren and Grady Collier, who filed for Salemburg commissioner, as well as Cody Smith, filing for reelection on the Newton Grove Board of Commissioners.
The filing period kicked off Friday and three names were immediately added to Sampson’s list, as Holden DuBose threw his name into the race for the District 4 Councilman’s seat for the City of Clinton. Also filing within the first few minutes was Garland’s Mayor Winifred Murphy and Clinton’s Mayor Lew Starling.
Starling has spent the last 18 years as the mayor of Clinton, while Murphy filed for her fourth term.
DuBose is running for a seat that is currently occupied by Jean Turlington, who was also appointed in the early 2000s to fill the unexpired term of her husband, Thomas Turlington. She has shared that she will not run again.
Before the end of the day, Newton Grove Mayor Gerald Darden and Stephen Jackson filed for the town’s top position. Other terms expiring are that of commissioners Alan Herring and Smith.
Across Sampson, there are more than two dozen seats up for grabs this election. All seven mayoral posts are included. The two-week filing period will end at noon Friday, July 19. Town board members are elected to four-year terms. Mayoral terms are two years in Autryville, Clinton, Garland and Newton Grove, and four years in Roseboro, Salemburg and Turkey.
In Autryville, Larry D. Autry’s mayoral term is expiring, as are the commissioner terms of Carolyn Cashwell, Dana Hairr and Larry Bernstein. Autry, formerly a town commissioner for the town, was elected to the mayoral post in 2015 and reelected in 2017.
Two commissioners in Garland — Mary Brown and Ralph Smith — are seeing their terms come to their natural end, while a third abbreviated commissioner term will also be up for grabs. Austin Brown, elected as Garland’s youngest ever commissioner in 2017, resigned last month.
Down in Harrells, three aldermen are up for election, including James Moore, Johnny “Ray” Powell and Katie Greer. The mayor is not decided by the people in Harrells. Aldermen are elected and they are responsible for choosing who among them will be mayor. Moore has served in that capacity for nearly two decades.
In Roseboro, town commissioners Ray Clark Fisher and Cary Holland will send an end to their terms.
Warren, who is wrapping up his first term as Salemburg’s mayor, ran unopposed four years ago in taking the reins from longtime mayor and mentor Bobby Strickland. Along with Warren, the four-year terms of commissioners Shirley Cooper, Mack Honeycutt and Bobby Tew are expiring.
In Turkey, Donald Myers’ four-year mayoral term is nearing its conclusion. He was first elected back in 2015, the same year commissioners Wilbert “Max” Pope and Mike Smith took their seats on the town board. The posts for Pope and Smith will also be up for grabs.
