Qualifying deadline nears for School Board, commission seats

While a large field of candidates appears poised to battle for the 14th District Senate seat currently occupied by Steve Roller, the same interest has not been shown for the three School Board seats up for grabs this year.

According to election administrator Donna Yates, Elizabeth (Libby) Tompkins is the sole qualifier to seek the school board as she will seek election in the 4th District where Bob Young is the incumbent. The 4th District will be up for election this August, along with the 2nd District where Edd Cantrell is the incumbent and the 6th District where John Turner Jr. is the incumbent.

‘There is still some time since the qualifying deadline is not until noon on April 3,’ said Yates, noting candidates must get the signatures of 25 registered Warren County voters who live in their school board district on their qualifying petition in order to qualify for the race.

Along with school board, Yates said there will be races for the 1st and 3rd County Commission districts due to the temporary resignations of Bill Zechman and George Smartt, who stepped down to seek the senatorial seat awarded to Roller. Though both were re-appointed to their seats by their fellow commissioners, they must still face a special election this August. Presently, Smartt is the only one facing opposition as Dennis Gann, an independent, has qualified to run against him.

For those interested in becoming a constable, nearly half of the county’s 12 constable spots are up for grabs as there are vacancies in the 1st, 2nd, 6th, 7th and 11th districts. The special elections come as the seats were abandoned by the elected officials, some of whom had moved after being elected. Just as in the other races, qualifying deadline is at noon April 3.