Early voting continues for city elections
Those who want to head to the polls and avoid lines in November have this week and next left to get to the Board of Elections office on weekdays.
Otherwise, the ballot is set and Election Day on November 5 is coming up fast for votes in the cities of Aragon, Cedartown and Rockmart.
Three contested races — one in each city — will determine a mayor’s race in Rockmart, a special election for a Cedartown Commission seat and two seats on Aragon’s city council.
The Board of Elections will accept registered voters during their offices hours on Monday through Friday to vote early at their office at 144 West Ave., Cedartown to allow city residents to cast ballots for the Aragon, Rockmart or Cedartown races.
Voter registration wrapped up on Oct. 7. Those who want to know their status can visit sos.ga.gov/ myvoter page to find out more, or contact the Board of Elections at 770-749-2103 to receive help. Absentee ballots can also be obtained by contacting the Board of Elections at their phone number.
The final week of early voting will also see a location open for Rockmart voters at the Nathan Dean Community Center, located at 604 Goodyear St., Rockmart from Monday, October 28 through Friday, November 1, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Of additional note, there’s no Saturday voting in Polk County for city elections in 2019. The Saturday vote will return in 2020 with presidential elections upcoming.
On the ballot in 2019 is a fourman Aragon City Council race for 2019. That includes Council Member and local business owner Judd Fee seeking a new term in office this year, longtime Aragon resident and former council member from years
past Buddy Tanner, former Aragon City employee and volunteer firefighter Mike Long Jr., and Aragon resident Gary Shindelbower.
In Rockmart, the decision is being made to determine who replaces Mayor Steve Miller after he concludes two terms in office and steps down as he promised to do when he first ran for the seat.
Former council member and businessman Sherman Ross is running for the seat against Mark Lumpkin, a two-plus decade veteran of the Polk School District as an educator and in recent years Central Office administrator, and co-owner of WZOT Radio.
In Cedartown, the special election to determine who fills the rest of the term previously held by Commissioner Jordan Hubbard is between Sam Branch and Randell Brazier.
Branch, a native of Cedartown who works at Suntrust Bank and Gammage Funeral Home, announced his intentions to run ahead of qualifying in past weeks. He also is a member of the Cedartown Civic Arts Commission, and is a member of the Exchange Club.
Brazier, former Code Enforcement Officer with the Polk County Police Department after a long career in public safety, seeks to extend his involvement in helping the community by seeking the seat as well.
Uncontested candidates this year include Aragon’s future mayor Debbie Pittman, who was the only person to qualify for the seat after she decided to give up her current position on the city council. In January, she’ll be replacing outgoing Mayor Garry Baldwin after he chose not to run for a new term.
In Cedartown, Andrew Carter and Dale Tuck will both get to start new terms in January without opposition as well. The incumbent pair qualified back in August to keep their seats and went uncontested in the upcoming city vote.
They are also joined by several Rockmart City Council members who are on the ballot in November by themselves. In Ward 2, Marty Robinson will be replacing James Payne on City Council without competition, and Rick Stone will get a new term in office as well. Rockmart’s special election to fill the unexpired time of Ross will be filled by Mike Bradley.
The final week of early voting will also see a location open for Rockmart voters at the Nathan Dean Community Center, located at 604 Goodyear St., Rockmart from Monday, October 28 through Friday, November 1, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.