The VDT

editorialized yesterday:

On Monday, qualifying week begins for candidates interested in running
in the November election for
Valdosta Mayor, City Council At Large and
Council Districts 1, 3, and 5;

Hahira City Council Districts 2 and 3;

City of Dasher
Post 3 and 4;

City of Lake Park Mayor and four council
positions;

Remerton Mayor and five council seats;

Valdosta School Board
Districts 4, 5, and 6.

The VDT points out that city elections usually don’t get much turnout,
but this year there are two referendum questions on the ballot that
may cause record turnout.
They are:

Sunday alcohol sales

On 21 July 2011 the Valdosta City Council voted to put a referendum
on the ballot for

permitting sales of alcohol on Sunday.
That’s something that could get even students out to vote.
It was students such as

Jordan Leman and

Alexander Abell
who lobbied the heaviest to get the City Council to do that.
Now, can they turn out the vote?

School consolidation

CUEE managed to get its school unification (or consolidation or desegregation)
referendum on the ballot with

0.33% more than the 25% of registered voters required.
How many of those petition signers believed CUEE’s rhetoric that
signing the petition wasn’t a vote for consolidation?
If a lot of them did, they might just turn out to vote no.
Can FVCS get them out to vote do that?
Or will FVCS get an injunction to stop that referendum
because according to the Georgia Constitution:

“no such consolidation shall become effective until approved by a majority
of the qualified voters voting thereon in each separate school system
proposed to be consolidated”

Even if the Valdosta school consolidation referendum passes,
a county-wide referendum may be necessary to decide the issue.

Get out and vote

If you don’t, don’t whine about the result.
Plus there are plenty of things to do in addition to voting:
register people to vote, make telephone calls, take leaflets door to door,
carry people to the polls, etc.

Who’s running?

Successful local candidates have filed at the last minute with almost
no campaign funds and won. Joyce Evans’ most recent campaign for
County Commission, for example.
If I recall correctly, Annie Fisher’s recent run for Valdosta School Board
is another example.
If you live in one of the local cities, it’s not too late to run.

Here is the

list of positions up for election and the qualifying fees
according to Deb Cox, Lowndes County Supervisor of Elections.

-jsq