Our opinion
It’s not the silly season of political hijinks that we all experienced last year when the presidential election drove the nation bonkers and all of our state offices were turned over to new winners. But the odd-numbered 2021 election still makes a difference in our communities.
This is particularly true in Demorest, where a new mayor will be selected after Rick Austin has served for eight years, and two council seats will be filled for the next four years.
Councilmen Shawn Allen and Jim Welborn occupy those seats right now after a special election put them in office last year, and they will be opposed by Lawrence Bridges and Roy Andrew Ferguson.
The mayor’s seat will be up for grabs between former fire chief Ken Ranalli and Jerry Harkness.
The Northeast Georgian will host a forum at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Demorest courtroom to hear from candidates and get an idea of what they stand for. This is by far the best part of the political process, with candidates speaking directly to the public, answering questions on the spot as they would have to if they are elected to serve the city.
The forum also will be carried on Facebook Live for those who cannot attend.
We are expecting Allen and Ferguson to be available for the forum, while Welborn and Bridges will not. Welborn said he is going on a family trip, while Bridges declined to participate.
It would be ideal to have all the candidates present, but we will do our best to present the candidates’ views as much as possible. Early voting opened Tuesday, and the election is just weeks away.
Bridges has served the Demorest Downtown Development Authority and owns the Temperance House downtown. Welborn has spent a year on the council and is most noted for spearheading the purchase of a new fire truck within budget parameters laid out by the council.
As for the rest of their views, you will have to ask them.
It’s too bad you won’t be able to ask them Thursday.
We look forward to allowing the other candidates to speak their minds and give you all the knowledge you need to cast your ballot for the future of Demorest.
We are also working on a forum for the District 5 county commission seat, so stay tuned for updates in the coming days on that.
The Northeast Georgian has made every effort to allow all candidates running in municipal or county elections to have their say and tell us why they will best serve us. That is the very heart of our political process, and we will be at the forefront of that in all years, odd or otherwise.