Key city elections to watch in Gwinnett County

Voters across Gwinnett County have started casting their ballots ahead of Nov. 2 municipal elections, many of which will result in newly elected officials.

Elections are taking place in all 16 of Gwinnett’s cities, and for seven of them, the mayor’s seat is on the ballot. Voters will also elect new councilmembers in several cities.

The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners seats are not up for election this year. SPLOST and E-SPLOST referendums will not appear on this year’s ballots.

New mayors

Trey King of Dacula is the only incumbent Gwinnett mayor with a challenger. Wade Anthony, a political newcomer, hopes to unseat him.

Voters in Braselton, a small town on the edge of Barrow, Gwinnett, Hall and Jackson counties, will choose between Hardy Johnson and Kurt Ward to lead. Incumbent Mayor Bill Orr announced in January of this year that he would not seek a fourth term.

Skip “Lee” Baliles is set to become the next mayor of Loganville, a city split between Gwinnett and Walton counties. Current Mayor Rey Martinez will not seek another term, as he plans to run next year for a state House seat.

Sugar Hill Mayor Steve Edwards will retire from office this year as well. Brandon Hembree, a former city councilmember, is the only candidate after the city disqualified his opponent.

No one stepped up to challenge the current mayors of three cities. Allison Wilkerson of Grayson, Craig Newton of Norcross and Kenneth Waycaster of Rest Haven will continue leading their cities.

Council competition

Loganville will choose among seven candidates to fill three at-large seats: Anne Huntsinger, Melanie Long, Terry Parsons, Shenia Rivers-Devine, Rosa Steele, Branden Whitfield and James Wilson.

The candidates’ vision for redeveloping Loganville’s downtown, a sensitive topic that has stirred contention and public mistrust, will be on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots.

Two new councilmembers will be elected in Lawrenceville, the county seat, as Bob Clark and Keith Roche will not seek reelection.

Edwar Aviles-Mercedes, Kartina Fellows and Austin Thompson will compete for Post 3; Bruce Hardy, Marlene Taylor-Crawford and Jennifer Young will face off for Post 4.

Councilmembers in Auburn, Braselton, Duluth, Lilburn, Norcross, Peachtree Corners, Snellville, Sugar Hill and Suwanee will also face challengers.

Here are the candidates running for other local offices in Gwinnett County:

Auburn

• Three at-large City Council seats: Bill Ackworth (incumbent), Robert L. Vogel III (incumbent) and Taylor Sisk

Berkeley Lake

• Rodney Hammond, Scott Lee and Chip McDaniel (all incumbents) are running unopposed for three at-large seats on City Council

Braselton

• Town Council, District 2: Richard Harper and Peggy B. Slappey (incumbent)
• Town Council, District 4: Jeff Gardner and James Murphy

Buford

• Chris Burge and Bradley Weeks (both incumbents) are running unopposed for their current City Commission seats
• Bruce Fricks (incumbent) is running unopposed for his current seat on Buford School Board
• Kathleen Welch and Lien Diaz are running for Pat Pirkle’s current seat on Buford School Board

Dacula

• Denis Haynes and Daniel Spain (both incumbents) are running unopposed for two at-large City Council seats

Duluth

• Jamin Harkness is running unopposed for Post 1 on City Council
• Marline Thomas (incumbent) is running unopposed for Post 2 on City Council
• City Council, Post 3: Billy Jones (incumbent) and Lamar Doss
• City Council, Post 4: Manfred Graeder, Brandon Odum and Ray Williams

Grayson

• Bob Foreman and Linda Jenkins (both incumbents) are running unopposed for their current City Council seats

Lilburn

• Yoon-mi Hampton ran unopposed for Post 1 on City Council and took office in September
• City Council, Post 3: Daniel J. Bollinger II, Michael F. Hart and Calum Lewis
• City Council, Post 4: Emil Powella (Incumbent) and Sherrie Villa

Norcross

• Bruce Gaynor (incumbent) is running unopposed for his current City Council seat
• City Council, at-large seat: Matt Myers (incumbent) and Sophie Gibson

Peachtree Corners

• Eric Christ and Weare Gratwick (both incumbents) are running unopposed for their current City Council seats
• City Council, Post 4: Jeanne Aulbach (incumbent) and Joe Sawyer

Snellville

• Cristy Lenski and Gretchen Schulz are running unopposed for their current City Council seats
• City Council, Post 5: Catherine Hardrick and Tod Warner (incumbent)

Sugar Hill