Anniston City Hall (file photo) (Anniston Star photo by Trent Penny)
And it looks like the county may need a 10-gallon Stetson to accommodate the large number of aspiring politicians – 108 people are running for contested offices across the county, compared to the 95 people who ran in 2008 and the 93 candidates in 2004.
This year’s higher number of candidates is reflected in individual races in both the county seat and its smaller municipalities. Perhaps the most obvious example is in Anniston, where 11 people are running for mayor of the Model City. But smaller cities like Hobson City and Ohatchee will also have ample choices for voters come August. All five of Ohatchee’s council seats are contested races this year. And there are four candidates each running for mayor in Ohatchee, a 1,170-person town, and in Hobson City, where only about 770 people live, according to census data.
Experts on city politics and government say that, typically, residents show increased interest in running for municipal offices when they are unhappy with policy decisions made by current leaders – or when their city goes through periods of stagnation or economic trouble.
“I tend to think the more the merrier,” said Harvey Newman, professor of public management and policy at Georgia State University. “I would see it as a positive sign – in a lot of municipalities, there would not be that level of interest.”
Interest, certainly, does not seem to be lacking this year in Calhoun County. For example, all five of the Anniston Board of Education incumbents have challengers in the August race – something that didn’t happen in the past two municipal elections. Less unusual are the contested races for each of the four ward representatives on the Anniston City Council; all of the council seats had challengers in both the 2008 and 2004 elections. Several of the 11 running for Anniston mayor reinforced the expert analysis in comments to The Star Tuesday, saying they decided to enter the race because they are, in fact, dissatisfied with Anniston’s current governance.
“People are really tired of the arguing, that nothing’s being done,” mayoral candidate Brant Locklier said. “The general direction of the city seems to be one with the boat sitting in the water without a motor.”
For his part, incumbent mayor Gene Robinson said his administration inherited a stagnant "situation" from the leaders who preceded him.
"We held our own, and we got prepared for when the American economy really expands again," Robinson said, listing as examples recent measures like the commercial development authority and the one-cent sales tax.
Joseph Zimmerman, professor of political science at the University of Albany’s Rockefeller College, called 11 candidates “an exceptionally large number for the office of mayor.” Indeed, it’s bigger than past mayoral fields for the city: During the last municipal election in 2008, only two people ran for mayor in Anniston. In 2004, the number of mayoral hopefuls was slightly higher, at four.
In Oxford, incumbent Mayor Leon Smith and all of the five incumbents on the council will face opponents in August, just as they did in the past two elections. Meanwhile, Jacksonville, Piedmont, Weaver and Hobson City each have some uncontested races this year. In Jacksonville, Place 3 Councilman Truman Norred and Sandra Sudduth, the councilwoman for Place 4, are both running unchallenged. Neither do representatives for districts 2 and 6 in Piedmont have opponents. Races for places 2, 3 and 5 on the Weaver City Council are uncontested, but incumbent Mayor Garry Bearden must defend his office from opponents Wayne Willis and Philip Smith.
In fact, every incumbent mayor across Calhoun County faces challengers this year – and did in 2008. In 2004, only Piedmont saw an uncontested mayoral race.
“You’ve obviously had some discontent,” Newman said of Anniston in light of its 11 mayoral candidates.
But political experts said flooding the race with so many candidates doesn’t necessarily ensure the best person is elected. In fact, Zimmerman said 11 candidates is really too many, because it can be overwhelming for voters, which in turn may encourage them not to turn out to vote.
“It is not a good method,” Zimmerman said of Anniston’s flooded mayoral field.
Or, Newman said, initial voter turnout in the Aug. 28 election could be high, but it’s unlikely in a field of 11 that any one person will win the majority of the votes needed to win the office outright. That means people will have to go back to the polls for runoff elections on Oct. 9.
“Getting them to come back to the polls is more difficult,” Newman said. “Voter turnout for runoff elections can really drop off.”
Star Staff Writer Cameron Steele: 256-235-3562. On Twitter @Csteele_star.
QUALIFIED CANDIDATES FOR 2012
ANNISTON
MAYOR
- Ralph Bradford
- Pollie Goodman
- Mike James
- Brant Locklier
- John Norton
- Roosevelt Parker
- Curtis Ray
- Gene Robinson (incumbent)
- George Salmon
- Vaughn Stewart
- Ann Welch
- Andy Hatley
- Jay Jenkins (incumbent)
- Sheffton Goodson
- Herbert Palmore (incumbent)
- David Reddick
- Benjamin Little (incumbent)
- Seyram Selase
- Marcus Dunn (incumbent)
- Arthur Fite
- Brian Harmon
- Millie Harris
- Joel Russell
- Arthur Cottingham (incumbent)
- Mary Klinefelter
- Donna Satterlee Ross
- Ernest Washington
- William Hutchings (incumbent)
- Trudy Moses Munford
- Mary Harrington (incumbent)
- C.K. Huguley
- Glen Ray
- Bill Robison (incumbent)
HOBSON CITY
MAYOR
- Kathy Jackson
- Willie Elston
- Eric Stringer
- Alberta McCrory (incumbent)
- Susie Jones (incumbent)
- O’Mildred Ball (incumbent)
- Deneva Barnes (incumbent)
- Isaiah Evans
- Frederick Striplin (incumbent)
- Joe Cunningham
JACKSONVILLE
MAYOR:
- Derek Raulerson
- Johnny L. Smith (incumbent)
- George Areno (incumbent)
- Jerry Parris
- Guy Bonds
- Mark Jones (incumbent)
- Kyle Warmack
- Truman Norred (incumbent)
- Sandra Sudduth (incumbent)
- Ronald “Ronnie” Thomas
- Jonathan Tompkins
- Richard Williams
- Kelley Haynes Pearce (incumbent)
- Steven Sewak
- Caroline Allen-Ross (incumbent)
- Emily Sims
- David Glass
- William Walter
OHATCHEE
MAYOR
- Steven Baswell (incumbent)
- John Lance
- Joseph K. Roberson
- Willie B. Thomas
- Todd Eubanks
- Melanie Rogers Johnson
- Celesia Kilgore (incumbent)
- J.M. Mitchell
- Brad Southern
- James T. Emigh Sr.
- William M. Southard
- Anthony Crossen
- Jamie Harris
- Teresa Lott (incumbent)
- Perry Howard (incumbent)
- Walter Johnson
OXFORD
MAYOR
- Cristy Humphries
- Russell Mullins
- Leon Smith (incumbent)
- Phil Gardner (incumbent)
- Freddie Hinton
- Charlotte Hubbard
- Sean Perez
- Ken Rollins
- Mike Henderson
- Terry Parker
- Jimmy Sparks
- Greg Thrower
- Chris Spurlin (incumbent)
- Kip Chappell
- Steven Waits (incumbent)
PIEDMONT
MAYOR
- Rick Freeman
- Brent Morrison
- Tony Williams
- Ben Keller
- John Lawrence (incumbent)
- Mary Bramblett (incumbent)
- Frank Cobb
- Doug Dickeson
- Ed Hanson (incumbent)
- Crystal Brown
- Kenny Kelley (incumbent)
- Charles McDonald
- Brenda Spears
- Diane Studdard (incumbent)
- Billy Baker (incumbent)
- Jayme Amberson
- Terry Kiser
WEAVER
MAYOR
- Garry Bearden (incumbent)
- Philip Smith
- Wayne Willis
- Mike Warren (incumbent)
- Warren Dempsey
- Tim McRae
- Ellen Cole (incumbent)
- Les Hill
- Keith Campbell
- Odis Pippin
- Jeff Clendenning (incumbent)
