With just two days left to qualify for municipal offices, races are beginning to take shape in the western Black Belt.

The deadline to qualify for municipal elections is July 20 at 5 p.m. Candidates qualify with city clerks.

As of Friday, the following individuals have qualified:

In Demopolis, Ben H. Sherrod, Ed Key and Mike Grayson officially entered the mayor’s race with Cecil Williamson and Stephen Gutshall. Incumbent Thomas Moore was the lone candidate in the District 1 council race. Willard “Peanut” Williams (I), Freddie Charleston and Mitchell Congress had qualified in District 2 and Melvin Yelverton had qualified in District 3. Incumbent Woody Collins was the sole candidate qualified in District 4 and incumbent Mike Baker and Jack Cooley had qualified in the District 5 race.

In Eutaw, Mayor Raymond Steele now faces Hattie Edwards and Shelia Hinds-Smith in the mayor’s race, and David Spencer and Donald Falls had qualified in District 1. Spiver Gordon, Trudie Cox and David Simpson had entered the council’s District 2 race. Joe Lee Towell and Molly M. Gaines had qualified in District 4.

In Faunsdale, incumbent Mayor Sadie Stanford had qualified and incumbent council members Ida Bell Walker, Wayne Averette, Clyde Ballard and Ruben Woods had turned in official qualifying documents.

In Forkland, Annie P. Armstead qualified for the District 2 race, joining Forkland’s Robert Biggs Sr., a candidate for council District 4.

In Greensboro, Melvin High Lightning and Venessa Hill had qualified in the mayor’s race. District 2 had Johnny M. Davis Sr. (I) qualified. Scott Morrison had qualified in District 4 and Valada Paige-Banks (I) had qualified in District 5.

In Linden, Mayor Roy P. Vice had tossed his name into the hat with Katheryn Friday for the mayor’s race. Dennis Breckenridge (I) had qualified in District 1, Butch King (I) in District 2, and in District 3 Howard Walters (I) and Charlie Howard both qualified. Neal Jackson Sr. (I) qualified in District 4 and Ivan Allday (I) in District 5.

In Livingston, Mayor Thomas Tartt had qualified as had incumbent council members Gary Busby (D1), Hilton Ishee (D2), Carl Sudduth (D3), Nelson Hughes (D4) and Iola Williams (D5).

In Marion, Herbert Tucker, Anthony Long and Robert Bryant had qualified for mayor, and incumbent District 1 councilman Spencer Hogue had qualified, as had James Hollis (I), Franklin Edwards and Edd Miree in District 2, and Brandon Taylor had qualified in District 3. Willie L. Jackson (I) and Ricky Clements have qualified in District 4. No candidates had qualified in District 5.

In Myrtlewood, Kevin McKinney has qualified for mayor. In the at-large council race, Joe Beverly (I), Frank Strickland (I) and Mitchell Hall have qualified.

In Sweet Water Wilbon R. Davis (I) qualified for mayor, as had incumbent council members Dorothy Ernest, Kenneth McClantoc Sr. and Sim Lewis.

No update was available from Thomaston, but incumbent Mayor Terry Counselman and Gayle Etheridge had qualified for that race, and no one had qualified for a council race at last report.

In Uniontown, Phillip White (I) and Raston Long IV had qualified for the mayor’s race. Tyrone Brown and Sherman Norfleet (I) had qualified for the council District 2 race. Thomas Stapleton and Don Moore (I) had qualified in District 3. Beatrice Turner (I), Mary Ann Flowers and Eugene Booker had all qualified in District 4, and Terry Bassett (I) had qualified in District 5. Qualifying information from York, Boligee, Cuba and Akron was not available.

York Renee Pringle, city clerk