Registrar: Candidate packages available to prospective council, mayoral candidates

Spring municipal elections are fast approaching. And while the May 5 election day is a long way off, the deadline to become a candidate is just around the corner.

Candidate packages for the municipal elections in Pulaski and Dublin are now available for pickup, according to Kathy Webb, Director of Elections and General Registrar for Pulaski County.

According to Webb, the deadline to become a candidate in Pulaski and Dublin is March 3 at 7 p.m.

Those individuals interested in running for a seat on council or for mayor in either town should pick up their candidate packages at Webb’s office located at 87 Commerce Street in the Maple Shade Plaza in Pulaski.

Webb points out independent candidates – which all municipal candidates are – will be listed on the ballot in the order of the time of their filing.

Candidates for council and mayor must be town residents. In Pulaski, candidates are also required to get 125 qualified signatures on petitions. Dublin does not have such a requirement.

This year, both Pulaski and Dublin will have mayoral races along with three council seats up for grabs.

PULASKI

In Pulaski, three of six council seats and the mayor’s office are all up for election.

Incumbents currently are Mayor David Clark and councilmembers Joseph Goodman, Jamie Radcliffe and Vice Mayor Greg East.

Council terms are for four years, while the mayor serves a two-year term.

DUBLIN

The mayor’s office and three of six council seats are also up for election in Dublin.

Mayor Benny Skeens is currently the incumbent, along with councilmembers Edith Hampton, Norman “Buck” Dowdy II, and Vice Mayor Doug Irvin Sr.

Skeens told The Patriot today he is planning on making at least one more run.

“I think people know me and what I am about so they will either vote for me or not. I am finishing 26 years of service. Six on town council and twenty years and six months as Mayor. If I win I will do the best that I can and if not then life goes on,” Skeens said.

In Dublin, council members serve four-year terms as does the mayor.

Anyone with questions about becoming a candidate in the two towns should contact Webb at 980-2111.

CITY OF RADFORD

Only two seats on council are up for election in Radford this spring, those currently held by Rob Gropman and Vice Mayor Richard Harshberger.

The same March 3 deadline for filing as a candidate for one of the two seats in Radford applies. Those individuals interested in becoming candidates in Radford should contact Registrar Tracy Howard at 267-3156.

Gropman recently announced on his city council Facebook page that he does not plan to seek re-election.

Gropman said the decision not to seek re-election was “not made lightly and not even recently.”

He said he has known for some time that, due to business concerns, he could not commit to another four-year term to serve the city at this time.

Gropman said he would continue to serve Radford in a different role “around the time my term is over,” noting he and his partners would be joining “the hardworking business community here in Radford.”

By MIKE WILLIAMS, The Patriot