Municipal elections important too

By Joe McAdory

Published: July 24, 2008

Forget Obama vs. McCain. There’s a pretty darn good election next month in Opelika. Forget the White House. Folks at city hall interact more with the people anyway.

Incumbent Mayor Gary Fuller and Rainer Meadows figure to have a good battle. We’ll see if people are satisfied with status quo or if they’re looking for some sort of change. But I figure that’s pretty much the case in any election.

Just like the Auburn Council seat elections two years ago, the race to fill Opelika’s wards on the council will be hotly contested. Whether incumbents are re-elected or not, change will be the order of the day on the Opelika Council. Why? Ward 3 representative Jerry Teel is not seeking re-election, leaving the seat open to a new representative. Folks seeking office in Ward 3 include Lucinda Samford Cannon, Janice Golden, Preston Long, Joey Motley and Loren Sutton. That’s a pretty powerful cast right there.

Also, veteran council member Clarence Harris, in Ward 2, announced his intention not to run again. Among those running for his vacated seat are Jerry Katz, Larry Gray, Arturo Menafee and Oscar Penn.

Races in other wards include:

Ward 1: Incumbent Patsy Jones against challenger Greg Jones. No relation.

Ward 5: Incumbent Dr. William Lazenby against challenger Rick Gaught.

In Ward 4, incumbent Eddie Harris is running unopposed.

One thing I love about municipal elections is non-partisanship. I do not have to see the words Democrat or Republican. People lead by their own merits, not with a party affiliation.

Election day in Opelika is Aug. 26.