All candidates have until 5 PM Friday to turn in petitions to get on the ballot. I’m hearing a lot of chatter that Friday will have some big and new announcements.
This is where we are at;
• Mayor; 3 candidates announced (I have not heard of any more, which disappoints me, but we may never now).
• At-Large A; 3 candidates announced, ALL WOMEN! (I also have not heard of any more in this race).
• At-Large B; 3 candidates announced (While I have not heard of any more, I wouldn’t be surprised if another candidate(s) jumps in).
• SE District; 1 Candidate announced (I have heard there may be up to 3 more announcing by Friday).
• Central District; 2 Candidates announced (I have heard this may be a crowded race with a possibility of 2-3 more candidates jumping in on Friday).
With some of the names being thrown around, I am excited that ALL races will be well balanced. So far we have a color blind graphic designer, a medical lab manager, 2 doctors, 3 lawyers, a pastor, a used car salesman, an insurance salesman (retired fire fighter) and many more professions.
There will likely be at least 1-3 runoffs in this election with city council seats. Unfortunately I don’t think there will be a runoff in the mayoral race. Winning candidates MUST receive at least 51% of the vote in the general election to avoid a runoff.
I will announce my early predictions and candidate profiles probably this weekend once I know who is running and more importantly who they are. Of the ones that have NOT announced, if they do, we will have one of the most diverse city election candidate pools of all time when it comes to ethnicity, gender and profession.
I am pretty excited . . . this time around we must stop big money in its tracks and hopefully create a more balanced council and since we won’t have silly primary voters mucking up the voting rolls we may get a very fair and balanced city election.