Update: 3-way races for all Monroe council posts except District 6, which is uncontested

Update: Friday, Aug. 25, 2017

Qualifying for the Nov. 7, 2017 Monroe Municipal Election officially closed at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017, with three candidates qualifying for each seat up for election except for District 6. Incumbent Councilman Wayne Adcock qualified unopposed to hold onto his District 6 post.

On the last day of qualifying, John Howard threw his hat into the ring for mayor, setting up a three-way race between Incumbent Mayor Greg Thompson and Sandra Shurling. Lidia Garrett, wife of Monroe councilman and Walton County Democratic Party chairman Norman Garrett, became the third candidate for the District 8 Super District. This sets up a three-way race between Incumbent Councilman Jimmy Richardson, a former Monroe mayor and previous Monroe municipal judge David Dickinson and Garrett, who had mounted an unsuccessful challenge last year to Commissioner Kirklyn Dickson for his seat on the Walton County Board of Commissioners. In District 3, for both the Special Election and General Election, newcomers Adriane Brown, Ross Bradley and Leon Boyce are vying for the seat vacated in the spring by Nathan Purvis.

The following is the final list at the close of qualifying

Monroe Mayor

• Greg Thompson (I)
• Sandra Shurling
• John Howard

Monroe City Council District 3 Special Election

• Ross Bradley
• Adriane Brown
• Leon Boyce

Monroe City Council District 3 General Election

• Adriane Brown
• Ross Bradley
• Leon Boyce

Monroe City Council District 6

• Wayne Adcock (I)

Monroe City Council District 8

• Jimmy Richardson (I)
• David Dickinson
• Lidia Garrett

Update: Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2017 

Except for District 6, currently held by Councilman Wayne Adcock, by close of business Wednesday each seat up for election in the Nov. 7, 2017 Monroe Municipal Elections is contested.

Incumbent Mayor Greg Thompson already has a challenge from Monroe resident Sandra Shurling, Adriane Brown, Ross Bradley and Leon Boyce are vying for District 3, both General and Special Elections, and Super District 8 Incumbent Councilman Jimmy Richardson is facing a challenge from former mayor and previous Monroe municipal judge David Dickinson. Qualifying ends on Friday.

Update: Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2017

Sandra Shurling qualified Tuesday to throw her hat into the ring to challenge Mayor Greg Thompson in his re-election bid. Also, Ross Bradley added his name as a candidate for District 3, Special and General Election, by qualifying on Tuesday.

Update: Monday, Aug. 21, 2017

Incumbent Mayor Greg Thompson and Incumbent Councilmen Wayne Adcock and Jimmy Richardson qualified on the first day of qualifying for the Nov. 7, 2017 Monroe municipal elections. In addition, Monroe resident Adriane Brown qualified as a candidate for the District 3 General Election. This was for the seat vacated by Nathan Purvis when he moved out of the district earlier in the year.

Initial Story

Qualifying began Monday, Aug. 21, 2017 and will end on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017, for a Special Election for the Monroe City Council District 3 seat as well as a General Election for the mayor’s post as well as Districts 6, 8 and District 3. The fee for each election for Districts 3, 6 and 8 will be $180 and the election will be on Nov. 7, 2017. Candidates registering for District 3 will have to pay $180 for each qualifying bid. The candidate who wins the Special Election will serve until Dec. 31, 2017 and the candidate who wins the General Election will be elected to serve the full 4-year-term that begins in 2018. It could be the same or a different candidate, but it is expected to be the same one likely to win both.

A candidate must earn more than 50 percent of the election to win or the top two candidates will participate in a Runoff Election on Dec. 5, 2017.

Monroe residents John Howard and Ross Bradley had announced that they would be running for the District 3 seat, but Howard has now said he will instead make a run for the mayor’s post. Monroe resident Sandra Shurling has also said publicly that she would be making a bid for the mayor’s seat and former mayor and previous Monroe Municipal Court judge David Dickinson has said he will be running for District 8, currently held by Councilman Jimmy Richardson. Richardson has said he will be running for re-election. Councilman Norman Garrett said he had heard of others who intended to throw their hat into the ring, in particular for District 3, but he was holding off until qualifying to see who actually makes it official. Incumbent mayor is Greg Thompson and the District 6 seat is currently held by Councilman and Vice Mayor Wayne Adcock.

The Walton County Board of Elections, located at 303 South Hammond Drive, Suite 111, conducts the municipal elections for the City of Monroe and qualifying packages for anybody wishing to throw their hat into the ring for any of these elected positions can be obtained from that location. Tap or click on this link for a map that shows these districts and where a candidate would need to live in order to qualify. The seat for mayor is city-wide.

Only residents of the incorporated City of Monroe are eligible to vote for Mayor and Council. For information, contact the Walton County Board of Elections at 770-267-1337 or elections@co.walton.ga.us