Doug Garrison bows out of Winder race

With Garrison’s withdrawal, the only qualifier in the race, Travis Singley, has won the Ward 4 seat without a contest. The seat is being vacated at the end of the year by Councilman Frank Dunagan.

Said Garrison: “Travis is a former 4-Her of mine, a hard working businessman and he has my support in seeking the Ward 4 Council position.”

A second announced candidate in another Winder council race also changed his mind Friday. Troy Hensley, who had planned to seek the at-large seat being vacated by Councilman David Maynard, told the newspaper that his security company had unexpectedly been awarded a large contract this week that will quadruple its business.

Despite Hensley’s withdrawal, the race for Maynard's open at-large seat now has three candidates: businessmen John Perkins, Larry Evans and Tim Bolt. Maynard is giving up his seat in order to challenge Mayor Chip Thompson for his post.

The other council race in Winder has two qualifiers – incumbent Ward 2 Councilman Charlie Eberhart and challenger Jim Cooley.

OTHER CONTESTED RACES

Until Friday, the only contested races were in Winder. But others emerged on the final day of qualifying in Statham and Bethlehem.

In Statham, Rudolf Krause qualified and will compete with Perry Barton and incumbent Hattie Thrasher for two at-large seats. The seats will go to the two candidates who win the most votes. Mayor Robert Bridges qualified for his post with no challengers.

A three-man race also is in the works in Bethlehem. Incumbent Post 4 Councilman Scott Morgan will have to fend off challengers C. L. Wood Jr. and Douglas Koestel. Post 2 Councilman Wayne Ridgeway and Mayor Sandy McNab are unopposed.

RESULTS ALREADY IN

No challengers qualified to run against Auburn Mayor Linda Blechinger or incumbent council members Peggy Langley and Dorissa Shackelford, so those election outcomes have already been decided.

In Braselton, unopposed incumbent councilmen Tony Funari and Richard Mayberry also will come back for new terms.

And in Carl, incumbent Rebecca Knight will keep her seat on the Carl Town Council. Derrick Jones will replace Councilman Truman Phillips on Jan. 19, 2012.

Though some races have been decided, voters in Auburn, Braselton and Winder also vote on Nov. 8 about whether to allow alcohol to be sold by the package on Sundays.

In addition, Barrow County is holding a countywide special election the same day for all voters both inside and outside the cities to decide two ballot questions: whether to allow the Sunday sales and whether the county government's day-to-day operations should be managed by a county manager.