School Board races are contested
Contested races will be held in all three School Board districts with at least one district assured of having new representation.
With qualifying deadline passing Thursday, the field is set for the upcoming local elections which will feature one longtime county commissioner challenging a veteran educator for his seat.
In the School Board’s 2nd District, Edd Cantrell will be challenged by current 1st District County Commissioner Bill Zechman, who will not seek re-election to the commission post he has held since 1986.
In the 4th District, incumbent Bob Young will face three opponents as Libby Tompkins, Nick Gawel and Rudie Thomsen III have thrown their hats in the ring.
In the 6th District, freshman incumbent board member John Turner will not seek a second term. Instead, Scott Holmes, Dianne Sneed and Maria Bond will vie for the seat, guaranteeing a new representative for the district.
In addition to School Board, a field of candidates have assembled to compete for the two Warren County Commission spots up for grabs. The seats from the 1st and 3rd districts were placed up for special election this year after incumbents, Bill Zechman and George Smartt, stepped down to seek the 14th District State Senator seat after the resignation of veteran Sen. Jerry Cooper.
The office was awarded to local attorney Steve Roller, with Zechman finishing a close second. Although both men were voted back into office by their fellow commissioners on an interim basis, state law requires they both must undergo a special election this year for the remainder of their terms, which will not expire for another two years.
With Bill Zechman not in the 1st District race, a new Zechman has emerged, that being his eldest daughter, Christie Zechman, who has been nominated by the Democratic Party to succeed her father. She will be challenged by independent Ronald S. Lee.
Meanwhile, Smartt faces two challengers in the 3rd District as independent Dennis Gann and Republican Hershell Madewell have announced their candidacy for the office Smartt has held since 1990.
Rounding out qualifications for local offices, one district will have a constable’s race. In the 11th District, Kurtis Michael Grubbs and Kyle M. Glenn will vie for the position.