By Hannah Lester
hlester@
opelikaobserver.com
AUBURN —
Statewide elections have covered headlines for the last few weeks — but Auburn’s municipal election is coming up in just two months.
On Aug. 23, residents will vote for their city council members and Auburn mayor.
These candidates have currently qualified for the election:
Mayor: Ron Anders, Jr.
Ward 1: Arthur L. Dowdell Sr., Connie Fitch-Taylor (i)
Ward 2: Kelley Griswold (i), Paul West
Ward 3: Beth Witten
Ward 4: Tyler Adams
Ward 5: Sarah Jane Levine, Leah Billye Welburn V
Ward 6: Bob Parons (i), Phillip Pollard
Ward 7: Max Coblentz, Greg Lane
Ward 8: Tommy Dawson
Now, however, there are some candidates who have expressed interest in running who have yet to qualify.
Auburn’s current board consists of Mayor Ron Anders, Ward 1 Councilwoman Connie Fitch-Taylor, Ward 2 Councilman Kelley Griswold, Ward 3 Councilwoman Beth Witten, the Ward 4 seat sits empty, Ward 5 Councilman Steven Dixon, Ward 6 Councilman Bob Parsons, Ward 7 Councilman Jay Hovey and Ward 8 Councilman Tommy Dawson.
The Ward 4 seat was vacated at the end of May after Brett Smith moved to Florida. The council is working to find a temporary replacement until the new council takes over in November.
Hovey has not qualified to run for his seat on the council again given his campaign for State Senator District 27. Hovey beat incumbent Tom Whatley by one vote but the results were contested.
Hovey and Whatley will both attend a hearing on June 25 to determine the results.
There is still time, too, for interested candidates to register to run for a seat.
The qualifying opened on June 14 and will close at 5 p.m. on June 28.
There are certain qualifiers, however, including needing to live in Auburn for 90 days, including the district the candidate would be running for.
The candidate must be a U.S. citizen and registered voter and can file their paperwork at 144 Tichenor Ave. (City Hall).
“Please note, the Auburn City Council adopted new boundaries for the City’s voting wards earlier this year,” the city’s website said. “Auburn residents are encouraged to look up their current ward and voting location to see if their ward has changed since the 2018 election. Find your current ward and voting location using the Voting Services Map or by entering your address into the footer at auburnalabama.org.”
Citizens who want to vote in the election will need to register by Aug. 9 through the Lee County Board of Registrars or Alabama Secretary of State Website.