Update: Five qualify to run for three at-large seats on Loganville City Council

Update 8/21/2019

At the close of qualifying for the Loganville Municipal Election at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 21, five candidates had qualified for the three at-large seats up for grabs. Two of the incumbents, Jay Boland and Linda Dodd, as well as Femi Oduwole, Misty Cox and Bill DuVall. The five will square off for the Nov. 5 elections and the three top vote-getters will take office in January 2020 to serve for the next four years.

Update 8/20/2019

With one a half days left to qualify, by noon on Tuesday Loganville incumbent council members Jay Boland and Linda Dodd had qualified for re-election to their seats on the Loganville City Council in the Nov. 5 election. Councilman Skip Baliles is staying true to his word that he would not seek a third term. Femi Oduwole, who ran unsuccessfully in the last election, has also qualified according to Loganville Election Superintendent Kristi Ash. There are three at-large seats up for grabs for a four-year term on the City Council. Qualifying closes at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 21.

Loganville City Council – 3 At-large Seats

Jay Boland (i)

Linda Dodd (i)

Femi Oduwole

Misty Cox

Bill DuVall

 

Initial story

Municipal elections for three seats on the Loganville City Council will take place on Nov. 5, 2019, and so far only current Councilman Jay Boland has announced conclusively that he intends to seek re-election. Councilman Skip Baliles has said he definitely won’t be and Councilwoman Linda Dodd has said she is not yet made up her mind, but she only has three days left to do it.

Qualifying to run for one of the three at-large seats up for grabs is the first three days of this week. Anyone wishing to qualify needs to do so between 8:30 a.m. and noon and 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday – Wednesday, Aug. 19 to 21, 2019 at the office of the City Clerk, 4303 Lawrenceville Road, Loganville. The cost to register to qualify is $180 and it is non-refundable. The City of Loganville has one precinct for municipal elections which is the Rock Gym Precinct on Main Street. Voting will take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 5, 2019.

Boland was a political newcomer when he first ran in 2013 to fill a vacated seat on the Loganville City Council. At that time he said he ran because he is “a citizen, not a politician.” He carried that belief through to his re-election campaign in 2015 and says that remains true today. He said he believes the experience of the past six years as the current chairman of the Public Safety Committee and past chairman of the Public Utilities Committee have proven indispensable.

“I have enjoyed serving the residents of Loganville over the past six years, and it would be my honor to continue that service to the people,” Boland said. “The role of a city councilmember is to stay informed and make decisions, but not micro-manage the great staff we have working for the city. I proudly stand by some of the tough decisions I have weighed in on over the years, and I believe there are more to come if we are to keep Loganville moving in the right direction. For me, it is about the people, not politics, and I enjoy serving the citizens of Loganville.”

Boland is a self-employed advertising executive. He has four children and has resided in the City of Loganville since 2009. His wife, Wendy, was named earlier this year to serve on the Loganville Development Authority.

Baliles has always said he believed in term limits and that was largely responsible for his decision not to seek re-election this time around.

“As an advocate of term limits, my eight years in office is almost complete. I believe our system of government will never improve as long as the main interest of most politicians is raising monies for the next election,” he said. “I truly regret not being able to convince others leaders in Loganville to allow our citizens to make the final decision by voting to allow a referendum to be put on the ballot and the decision being made at the ballot box. People have asked, ‘Are you tired of being on the City Council’? My response is no, but our city needs new ideas and new blood. And I want to make sure and offer a big ‘thank you’ to the citizens of Loganville for allowing me to represent you in the political arena. Changes will come and I ask all to embrace the changes to make our City even better. Again, my sincere thanks for eight great years!”

At the end of the August City Council Meeting, Loganville resident Bill Duvall introduced himself and announced that he would be throwing his hat into the ring for one of those seats up for grabs on the Loganville City Council. He said he and his wife, Stephanie, have lived in Loganville for about 6 or 7 years. He is a structural engineer and his wife is a pre-school teacher at Grayson Methodist Church.

With part of the City of Loganville being in Gwinnett County, which the Census Bureau has said must provide bilingual ballots and other voting materials under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act, election material for Loganville is in both English and Spanish. With about 20% of its residents Hispanic, Gwinnett County is the only county in Georgia that falls under Section 203. Loganville Mayor Rey Martinez was the first Latino mayor voted to serve in a Georgia city.

The following is the official Notice of General Election for the City of Loganville.