Statewide, local races set for November
After three days of qualifying, candidates for the November elections are set in stone. A total of 42 seats in 38 distinct positions representing some or all citizens of Webster Parish will be up for grabs this fall, and 78 candidates filed their names by the close of qualifying Friday.
Of those 38 positions, 19 will see multi-candidate races. However, it appears one of the biggest seats will be claimed unopposed.
Wayne McMahen, long-time Springhill veterinarian, was the only candidate for the Louisiana Representative 10th District seat to qualify last week, shortly after acquiring the public support of previous Representative Gene Reynolds, who stepped down this summer to run the state parks.
Three candidates for the 4th Congressional District U.S. Representative seat filed in the final hours Friday afternoon, including current Representative Mike Johnson. His two opponents will be Mark David Halverson of Bossier City, who ran against him two years ago, and Ryan Trundle of Shreveport.
Among the other unopposed positions in Webster Parish are 10 of the 12 school board seats. Nine incumbents will return to office, while “Fred” Evans filed unopposed for District 6, replacing John Madden with Madden’s public endorsement.
The only races to be seen this fall for the school board will be in Districts 1 and 2. Margaret Edens, mother of the late Brandon Edens, completed her son’s term on the board for District 1 this year and is now opposed by Roderick Thomas and Kelli Harris, both of Springhill. Incumbent Malachi Ridgel will run against Terrell Mendenhall, also of Springhill, for the District 2 seat.
At the municipal level, three of the four mayoral seats up for election will see multi-candidate races, while Todd Leake will run unopposed in Heflin.
Both mayors of Webster Parish cities are stepping down after this term, and two new candidates apiece have qualified to run for their seats. Replacing Tommy Davis in Minden will be either Terry Gardner or “Winky” Newer, and Carroll Breaux in Springhill will be succeeded either by Adam Harris or Ray Huddleston. In the Village of Doyline, incumbent Steven Bridwell is opposed by Gary Carter.
Other multi-candidate races include the Chief of Police for the City of Minden as well as all five City Council seats in Minden and Springhill.
Current Chief of Police Steve Cropper is seeking reelection against John G. Burns Jr. and Larry D. Morris Jr.
Only two of the five current city councilmen in Minden are seeking reelection: Wayne Edwards in District A and Vincen “Cheese” Bradford in District C. Edwards will face Herbert “Tycoon” Taylor III, while Bradford will run against Cleodis Bell Jr., Deborah Cooksey, and Latasha Mitchell.
Running in District B are Jo Ann McWoodson and Terika “Reek” Williams, with Keith Beard, Lisa Rush McKinely, and Gabrielle Ramsey Tyler running in District D.
Finally, in District E, another four-person race is composed of “Pam” Bloxom, Michael Fluhr, Billy Mills, and Kyle Robertson.
Meanwhile, four of the five current aldermen of Springhill are seeking reelection, and all are running opposed.
Incumbent Nicole Frazier will face Chucky Lane in District 1, while incumbent Dennis Smith will face “Ronnie” Hearnsberger and Solomon Porter in District 2. District 3 will see three contenders face incumbent Ross Fleming: Patsy Leonard, Kristina Marshall, and Stacey Willard.
District 4 will see a new face as alderman, either “Alex” Edwards or “Jeff” Thebeau. Lastly, incumbent “Ronnie” Dees in District 5 will run against David Scruggs.