City Spotlight on Winder: Four Offices up for Election in Barrow's County Seat

As summer winds down to a close, campaigns for public offices all over Barrow County will just be heating up.

The first order of business, of course, is the all-important qualifying period during which potential candidates toss their hats into the ring for any open offices. It just so happens that four of seven elected offices will be up for election in Barrow’s county seat of Winder on Nov. 8, 2011:

• Mayor — Position currently held by George "Chip" Thompson III
• City council member, Ward 2 — Southern part of the city encompassing Yargo Lake, a seat currently held by Charlie Eberhart
• City council member, Ward 4 — Eastern part of the city encompassing Beech Creek and parts of downtown, a seat currently held by Frank Dunagan
• City council member, at large, a seat currently held by David Maynard

The qualifying period will be open from from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 29 through Sept. 2 at . Individuals interested in playing an active role in their city’s government can go to city hall during the qualifying period to pick up a qualifying packet, and pay the qualifying fees associated with the office they are seeking. The qualifying fee for the office of mayor is $630 and for council members is $180. If elected, compensation for these offices is $21,000 per year for Mayor and $6,000 per year for council members.

To be an eligible candidate for any one of the four open offices, one must be 21 years of age and a qualified voter in the city who has never been convicted or sentenced for fraudulent violation of primary or election laws, malfeasance in office or felony involving moral turpitude or conviction of domestic violence under the laws of Georgia or any other state of the United States (or if convicted, full civil rights restored for at least 10 years from the date of completion of the sentence without a subsequent conviction of any felony involving moral turpitude). To run for the office of mayor, one must also have been a resident of the city for at least two years. To run for the office of city council member at large, one must been a resident of the city for at least one year, and to run for the office of ward council member, one must have been a resident of the city for at least one year and of the ward to which they hope to serve for at least six months.

For more information, including a brief description of the Georgia Ethics in Government Act, voter registration, polling places and campaigning, visit the city of Winder ‘s election page. To take a peek at the newly revised (May 2011) ward map, click here to see where your residence falls.

Check back every Friday for a new City Spotlight on Winder.