Of the five positions to go before voters in Westover’s June 14 municipal election, it looks as if only one will be contested.
Tuesday evening marked the deadline for non-incumbent candidates to turn nominating petitions over to City Clerk Sandie Weis’ office.
As of the 5 p.m. deadline, the list of candidates included:
Mayor – Robert Lucci
Council-at-large – Duane Tatar (incumbent)
First Ward – Alli Jackson
Second Ward – Jeffrey Friend (incumbent); Gary Marlin
Third Ward – Shawna Cross
Four other candidates — Elvis Austin (mayor); Diana Frisco (council-at-large); Blake Austin (1st Ward) and Joshua Thrasher (1st Ward) — filed certificates of announcement but did not submit nominating signatures.
June’s election will bring new faces to at least three seats on the city’s governing body as longtime mayor Dave Johnson and council incumbents Ralph Mullins (1st Ward) and Gary Weber (3rd Ward) are not seeking reelection.
Despite only one of five races being contested, Weis said she’s hopeful city residents will take a greater interest in the city’s election process.
In 2018, just 37 of Westover’s 2,919 registered voters (1.27%) went to the polls. In 2020, 60 voters participated in an election that was delayed about a month due to COVID-19.
As for the 2022 election timeline going forward, Weis said a ballot position drawing will be held at 9 a.m. on April 5.
Write-in candidates have until April 26 to complete a candidate application and turn in nominating petitions. The names of write-in candidates will not appear on the ballot but will be posted at the city’s polling location in city hall.
Early voting will begin June 1 and run through June 11 from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both Saturdays.
