New mayor to be elected in McDonough

Two longtime members of the McDonough City Council will be vying for the mayor’s seat this fall in the city’s municipal elections. Incumbent mayor Billy Copeland, whose total service as mayor and council member adds up for more than 30 years, has chosen not to run for re-election.

The two qualifiers in that race are Craig Elrod and Sandra Vincent. Elrod has served nearly eight years in office representing District 3 after initially winning a special election for that seat, and he is now in the middle of his term. Vincent has served almost 16 years as the District 2 council member and her current term expires in December. Tony Brown is the third candidate in the mayoral race. Jamal Burt is the only candidate running for Vincent’s seat, while District 1 incumbent Rufus Stewart is being challenged by Toneen Brown. As for Roger Pruitt’s at-large seat, the incumbent is facing Arlene Persaud, Vanessa Thomas and Darryl Payton. Information: mcdonoughga.org.