No opposition for mayor’s office, yet
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With qualifying deadline for the mayor’s race falling at noon, Aug. 19, three people have picked up qualifying papers for the job, those being Davenport, former alderman Rickey Jones, and former three-term Mayor Dr. Norman Rone.
Jones is reportedly undecided, or is not revealing which race he will enter, as he also picked up qualifying papers for one of the three aldermanic spots up for election on Nov. 2. In the meantime, Rone has opted not to enter the race.
Rone said he decided not to seek a fourth term after discussing the idea with his family over the weekend. Rone had gone to the lengths of gathering signatures on his qualifying petition before ruling out a run.
“We decided this was not the thing for me to do at this time,” Rone said. “It takes a lot of energy to do a good job, and I found it took about 40 hours a week, and that’s in addition to my other job. I noticed my practice slipped a little when I was in office before.”
Rone, an optometrist, served three full terms as mayor, leading McMinnville through the entire decade of the 1990s. Prior to his election, it was Davenport who served two consecutive two-year terms as mayor, meaning either Rone or Davenport have been mayor of McMinnville for the past two decades.
The mayor’s job became a four-year term after Rone’s first term of office.
In removing his name from consideration, Rone said he had no major agenda.
“I didn’t really have an ax to grind anyway,” Rone said. “The present administration has done a fairly good job. Besides, I’d like to think we left office on a high note.”
Rone, who unsuccessfully sought the 43rd District State Representative’s spot a few years ago, did not rule out a future run for office, either on the city, county or state levels.
“Right now my practice is doing good and I’m busy with the radio station (WCPI), so I’m going to concentrate on those things right now,” Rone said. “I’m not ruling out anything in the future though.”
Rone said he wanted to make his decision public so other prospective candidates would know should they decide to qualify before the Aug. 19 deadline. Rone advised Davenport of his intention not to run Monday.
Several other major rumored challengers have publicly announced they will not seek the mayor’s office. Among those saying they will not run for mayor are a pair of current aldermen, Bobby Kirby and Donald Hillis, with Hillis saying he will likely seek re-election to his aldermanic post this year. Kirby will come up for re-election in two years.
“I just really don’t have the time it would take,” Hillis said, noting his business keeps him very busy.
Also saying he will not run is 16-year alderman Lester Cowell, who said he toyed with the idea but decided not to run.
“Sixteen years is enough I think,” Cowell said.
Col. Thomas B. Vaughn, who several years ago gave the late state Rep. Shelby Rhinehardt a run for his money, admitted he had toyed with the idea of seeking the mayor’s role, but has also opted not to seek office.
“If this was 10 years ago, I’d do it in a minute,” Vaughn said. “But, I’ve gotten where I really value my flex time, so I’m going to stay out of the fray this year.”
Also on the short list of rumored candidates was WastAway president Floyd Bouldin, who admitted a run for mayor might be a good challenge except for one major detail, that being, he does not live in the city limits. Mayoral candidates must reside in McMinnville.