Opponent withdraws; Johnson gets 4th term
Published 1:48 am Wednesday, July 20, 2016
Andalusia Mayor Johnson was elected to a fourth term in office yesterday when his lone opponent withdrew from the race shortly after qualifying ended yesterday.
With no opponent, Johnson becomes the first mayor of Andalusia to serve three consecutive terms since John George Scherf Sr., who served for 16 years. Johnson was mayor from 2000 until 2004; was reelected in 2008 and 2012, and in unopposed in 2016. It is unknown when a mayoral candidate was last unopposed.
A notarized statement from Eastman was delivered to city hall at approximately 5:30 p.m. It stated, “I, Jared Eastman, hereby withdraw my candidacy for the office of mayor of the City of Andalusia, Alabama, on the election to be held August 23, 2016.” No reason was given.
Andalusia will have races for city council in District 2 and District 3, as well as school board district 4.
Eddie Lewis qualified Tuesday afternoon to run for council in District 2 against Hazel Griffin, who is seeking a third term. Lewis is also known in Andalusia as “Eddie Knight,” the name he used as a television host.
In District 3, Walter “Buster” Boyd, appeared to have completed the qualifying process to challenge incumbent Kennith Mount, also seeking a third consecutive term. Boyd qualified last week, but had not completed the voter registration process in Alabama. On Tuesday, he effectively refilled his qualification papers with proof that he is a registered voter. City Clerk John Thompson said he previously had notified Boyd that he also had not met the Ethics Commission requirement for filing a statement of economic interests, which much be filed prior to qualifying, or postmarked on the day of qualifying. Thompson said the Ethics Commission must confirm they have received the statement before a name can be added to the ballot.
In Opp, six people are facing off against Mayor John Bartholomew for the city’s top office. (See charts).
Each city council seat has opposition.
Current Florala Mayor Robert Williamson decided not to run for re-election and three people – Terry Holley, Marvin Williford and Justin Jackson are seeking the spot.
Four of the five city council seats will have an election. Only Jeff Burleson is running unopposed in District 4.
In River Falls, current mayor Patricia Gunter is facing opposition from James Longmire.
No election is needed for River Falls council, Gantt mayor council and Red Level mayor and council, as none of the candidates drew opposition.
The election will be held Tues., Aug. 23.