Mayor, city council races set

Published 10:32 am Wednesday, July 18, 2012

The city council and mayoral races in Demopolis and Linden are set following the lapse of Tuesday’s 5 p.m. registration deadline.

With elections still six weeks away, one city council seat in Demopolis and three in Linden have already been decided thanks to the unopposed candidacies of four incumbents.

Demopolis will see District 4 councilman Bill Meador return for a second term after he stood as the lone qualifier at the close of business Tuesday.

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Linden incumbents Dennis Breckenridge in District 1, Mike Carlisle in District 2 and Jan Cannon in District 5 are all unopposed.

Demopolis will see head-to-head races in Districts 2, 3 and 5 as well as a three-way sprint in District 1.

District 2 will see incumbent Mitchell Congress run against Nathan Hardy. District 3 will see Melvin Yelverton seek a third term against the bid of D. Harris Nelson. Incumbent Jack Cooley will look to retain his seat in District 5 against Cleveland Cole Jr.

District 1 will have a new councilman for the first time in 20 years as Charles Jones Jr., Grace Clayton Motley and Robert Shepherd contend for the spot vacated by Thomas Moore, who opted not to seek re-election.

The quest for the office of Demopolis mayor will be settled between incumbent Mike Grayson and Don Singleton.

The Linden mayoral race will see incumbent Mitzi Gates seek a second term against the challenges of Charles Moore and Joe L. Young.

Linden will see only one new city councilman. That new face will come from District 3 where John Lankster vies for the seat vacated by his brother against first-time seat seeker William Bryant.

District 3 incumbent Richard Lankster will run for the District 4 seat after the redrawing of the district lines shifted him from one grouping to another. In his efforts to win the District 4 seat, Richard Lankster will face incumbent Neal Jackson.

The municipal elections are Aug. 28.