Wednesday, June 26, 2002
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Wednesday, June 26, 2002 |
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Candidate qualifying set for 2002 races By MONROE
ROARK
Fayette County voters will know in late August who two of their commissioners will be for the next four years, as the 2002 county election has turned into an all-Republican affair. No Democrats qualified for the two county commission seats or the two Board of Education seats up for election this year, according to the county's election office. The primary is set for Aug. 20, while the general election will be Nov. 5. The school board races will be especially easy to call, since there is a single unopposed candidate in each race: Incumbent Greg Powers of Fayetteville in Post 4, and Lee Wright of Tyrone in Post 5 (Mickey Littefield announced earlier this year he would not seek another term). Wright has served on Tyrone's Planning Commission. For Post 4 on the county commission, incumbent Linda Wells will face former Brooks Town Council member Caroline Smith and Thomas Stephens. Post 5 has incumbent Greg Dunn, the current commission chairman, facing former Fayetteville mayor Mike Wheat. There is one judgeship on the Griffin Judicial Circuit up this year, and incumbent Chris Edwards of Brooks is unopposed. Portions of three separate state House of Representatives districts and three state Senate districts stretch into Fayette County. Many House districts are multi-member districts in which all voters will elect candidates for every post. Since redistricting has occurred since the 2000 elections, candidates listed as incumbents may now be serving in different districts from those they are campaigning for in 2002. In House District 48, candidates for all four posts are unopposed: Bob Holmes of Atlanta, 58, a Democrat, director of the Southern Center for Studies in Public Policy, in Post 1. Incumbent Sharon Beasley-Teague, 50, a Democrat, a machinist from Red Oak, in Post 2. Joe Heckstall of East Point, 55, a Democrat , a motivational speaker, in Post 3. Virgil Fludd of Fayetteville, 44, a Democrat, a corporate recruiter, in Post 4. House District 85 has two posts. Incumbent John Yates of Griffin, 80, a Republican, a retired distributor center manager, is unopposed in Post 1. Incumbent John Lunsford of McDonough, 44, a Republican, a businessman, is running in Post 2. Merrill Massengale of Griffin, 63, a Republican, a retired Coast Guard officer and professor, is also running in Post 2. House Minority Leader Lynn Westmoreland of Sharpsburg, 52, a Republican, a builder, is unopposed in District 86. In District 17 of the Senate, incumbent Mike Crotts of Conyers, 55, a commercial real estate and insurance professional, is running against Diane Massengale of Hampton, 51, an office administrator. Both are Republicans. Incumbent Mitch Seabaugh of Sharpsburg, 42, a Republican, a CPA, is unopposed in District 28. The race for District 34 has five candidates: Chuck Meadows of Riverdale, 26, a Democrat, a consultant. Michael King of College Park, 47, a Democrat, an attorney. Prudencia Sealey-Trotter of Fayetteville, 40, a Democrat, an airline payroll administrator and owner of a publishing companyl. Valencia Seay of College Park, 48, a Democrat, a legislator. Emory Wilkerson of Fayetteville, 41, a Republican, an attorney. Fayette County is in the 8th and 13th districts in the U.S. House of Representatives. Georgia's population growth the past 10 years has resulted in an increase from 11 districts to 13. In the new 8th District, incumbent Republican Mac Collins of Jackson, a businessman, will face Angelos Petrakopoulos of Duluth, a Democrat and an information technology consultant, in November. Collins now represents the 3rd District, which encompasses all of Fayette. The 13th District has six candidates: Greg Hecht of Forest Park, 38, a Democrat, an attorney and a state senator now representing part of Fayette County. Donzella James of Atlanta, 54, a Democrat, also a current state senator. Embry Malone of Stone Mountain, 48, a Democrat, a business consultant. David Scott of Atlanta, 56, a Democrat, owner and CEO of an advertising agency. David Worley of Jonesboro, 43, a Democrat, an attorney and recent head of the state's Democratic Party. Clay Cox of Lilburn, 33, a Republican, a businessman. Two Fayette County residents have thrown their hats into the ring for statewide office: David Mays of Tyrone, 49, a dentist, will face incumbent Secretary of State Cathy Cox in the Democratic primary for that seat, with the winner facing one of three Republican candidates in November. Kathy Cox of Peachtree City, 37, a teacher and a current state representative, is one of two Republican candidates for state school superintendent. She and Mitchell Kaye, a current state senator, will vie for the chance to face one of six Democratic candidates i n the fall.
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