City Council in four north Fulton cities could be vastly different in January. The terms of elected officials in Roswell, Alpharetta, Johns Creek and Milton are ending in December.
This is qualifying week for all candidates — incumbents and contenders — who want to run for the posts.
Qualifying started Monday and continues until Wednesday afternoon in Alpharetta and Johns Creek; and Friday in Roswell and Milton.
Alpharetta
The terms of Mayor Jim Gilvin and Councilmen Dan Merkel, John Hipes and Jason Binder end this year.
Binder, Post 5, is not running for reelection, according to Assistant City Administrator James Drinkard.
Gilvin as well as Hipes in Post 4, and Merkel, Post 6, will run to hold their seats and qualified on Monday.
Johns Creek
Three officials are facing the end of their term in December.
Councilwoman Stacy Skinner, seated in Post 2, was sworn-in in November 2021 to complete the term of Brian Weaver and has said she intends to run for reelection.
Johns Creek Councilwoman Erin Norwood, Post 6, has announced on social media that her campaign for reelection will kick-off this week.
Councilman Chris Coughlin, Post 4, who was first elected to serve on Johns Creek City Council in 2015, is also facing the end of his current term.
Roswell
In recent weeks, several residents announced their intent to run for office in Roswell where four council seats are open for election this November.
A special election will be held on Election Day for the Post 4 seat in Roswell, which was vacated by Peter Vanstrom. He resigned in July for personal reasons.
The terms of councilmembers Sarah Beeson, Mike Palermo and Christine Hall end in December.
Palermo has announced he will not run for reelection. Beeson, Post 1, was elected last year to complete the term of Marcelo Zapata who resigned for medical reasons. She plans to run for reelection in November.
Hall was elected in 2020 and says she is also running for reelection to the Post 3 seat.
Milton
Milton’s election season has been a source of controversy all year. There are three council seats open for election with terms ending for Councilmembers Paul Moore, District 2/Post 2; Carol Cookerly, District 1/Post 2; and Rich Mohrig, District 3/Post 2.
Milton will manage its own elections for the first time this fall. The other north Fulton cities considered partnering but later decided to wait until a future local election cycle.
Milton was most recently in a dispute with political action committee Milton Families First after the city decreased the number of polling locations from eight to three. The organization has questioned whether City Council could legally set the polling places while the members were eligible for reelection.
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