Five new contested races have been set up by the non-partisan filings for local elected positions in the Nov. 7 General Election.

Candidates for mayor and council seats (except in Russellville) plus school boards had until Aug. 8 to file their candidacies.

One contested race comes as something of a surprise. Roger E. Parker has filed as an Independent candidate for District 1 on Logan Fiscal Court. He will oppose Democratic nominee Starling Murphy for that seat.

Interesting council races have been set up in both Adairville and Auburn.

Seven candidates are running for the six seats on the Adairville council. Incumbents Marla Sircy, Danny Finch, Judy Tanner and Tracy Gunderson are seeking reelection. Also in the race are Leslie (Buster) Sircy, Donna Blake and Nannette Starks King.

Blake, who was a councilwoman before running for mayor two years ago, and King, a long-time civic leader, have been vocal in their criticism of Mayor Jim Wilkerson’s administration.

Two incumbents, including 93-year-old Bernice Dickerson, are not running again. The other is Bill Hendricks, who has served multiple terms.

At Auburn, three of the six current council members are not seeking reelection. They are long-time public servants John Dale McMurry and Martha Forte Elliott. Joining them in sitting this one out is first-term councilwoman Pat Tisdale Bailey.

Incumbents running again are Bobby Price, Ron McGee and Wayne Thomas.

Five challengers are in the fray for the Auburn council. They are Rex Evans, Dwayne Doepel, Craig Offutt, Gayle Gregory and Michael Hughes.

The Auburn School Board seat is up for grabs after long-time incumbent Glenn Hendricks decided not to run again. Three well-known men are running for that seat. They are Michael Frank Elliott, Timothy Markham and Tim Hall.

As expected, the position of mayor of Lewisburg is contested. Incumbent Kenneth Whitson is being challenged by former councilwoman Sandra Adler.

But Lewisburg only has five people running for the six seats on the council. They are Jeffrey laster, Robert Harper, Melanie Palmgren, Angie Mullen and Tina Callahan-Dye. Those five will name a sixth person to serve with them after they are elected unless the write-in method is used.

Other contested races include Republican incumbent Sheldon Baugh and Democrat Jane W. Harper for state representative; Republican Jimmy White, Democrat Logan Chick and Independent Larry Grayson for county judge/executive; Democrat Scottie Harper and Republican Gaylen Baugh for county clerk; Republican incumbent Jo Orange and Democrat Wyatt Ezell for District 5 magistrate; and Democrat Thomas Bouldin and Republican Joe Meguiar for District 6 magistrate.

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