Local candidate forum set for Tuesday
Gordon County citizens will have a chance to hear from several local candidates at an upcoming event.
Tuesday night, the Sonoraville Recreation Complex, 7494 Fairmount Highway, will host a local candidate forum, and event that is open to the public.
Candidates will have the opportunity to set up information tables and hand out campaign materials during a meet-andgreet session prior to the forum between 5:30 and 6.
A local Boy Scout troop will conduct a flag ceremony and the National Anthem will be performed as well.
Gordon County Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Kathy Johnson will handle introductions, and local media outlets will assist high school students from Calhoun, Gordon Central and Sonoraville in preparing questions for the candidates.
The event is free and open to the public.
UPCOMING PRIMARY
RACES
Below is information on candidates who qualified for the May 24 General Primary Election include:
County Commission District 2 has two candidates, who are both Republicans — incumbent Chad Steward and challenger Ricky Lee Smith.
County Commission District 4 that is currently held by Becky Hood, who has decided not to run for reelection, drew three total qualifiers in Republicans David MacKnight and Kurt Sutherland, along with Democrat
Kenneth W. Russell.
County Board of Education Post 3 also will see a challenger as incumbent Dana Michelle Stewart will face Larry Knudsen in May.
All other County Board of Education posts — Post 1 held by Charlie Walraven, Post 5 held by Kacee Smith, and Post 7 held by Eddie Hall — have incumbents running unopposed.
In state races, eastern Gordon County’s current representative in the Georgia State House, Rick Jasperse (R-Jasper), will have a Democratic challenger in November, with Pickens County native Kayla Hollifield qualifying for the State House District 11 race.
Covering the rest of the county, including the City of Calhoun, District 5 State House Representative Matt Barton (R-Calhoun) will again run unopposed.
In State Senate District 54, incumbent Chuck Payne (RDalton) picked up a primary challenger in Doug Keener, while Chuck Hufstetler (R-Rome) will have two primary challengers in Jeff Lewis and Derek Keeney.
Local voters also will help decide the nominees for the 14th Congressional District
seat, which covers all of Floyd, Chattooga, Polk, Paulding, Gordon, Catoosa, Dade, Murray, Walker and Whitfield counties along with a southwest section of Cobb County.
Republicans seeking to unseat incumbent Marjorie Taylor Greene are Jennifer Strahan, Charles Lutin, James Haygood, Eric Cunningham and Seth Synstelien.
Democrats vying for their party’s nomination are Holly McCormack, Marcus Flowers and Wendy Davis.
IMPORTANT DATES
The voter registration deadline for the Tuesday, May 24 election is Monday, April 25. Those seeking absentee ballots must do so by Friday, May 13, and may mail those ballots between Tuesday, April 5, and Friday, May 13.
In-person, early voting will take place from Monday, May 2, to Sunday, May 20, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. with Saturday voting on May 7 and 14 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
If there are any runoffs, those are scheduled to take place on Tuesday, June 21, with the general election set for Tuesday, Nov. 8.
To register to vote or view a sample ballot, visit mvp. sos.ga.gov/MVP.
For more information, call the Gordon County Board of Elections at 706-629-7781 or visit gordoncounty.org/departments/board-of-elections.