Centerville City Councilman Justin Wright announces run for mayor

Wright has served as a member of the city council since 2016, and Lead Pastor at Centerville Community Church since 2013.

CENTERVILLE, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Justin Wright, Centerville Post 2 City Councilman, officially announced his mayoral candidacy on Monday.

In December, Centerville Mayor John Harley announced he would not be seeking reelection in 2025. He resigned a few days later. The sudden resignation surprised many, including Wright.

“Having already made that decision for the fall, we decided to go ahead and enter into the special election,” Wright said. 

During the campaign kickoff, Wright signed up volunteers, raised money and took questions from those in attendance. Among the attendees was Georgia House District 147 Rep. Bethany Ballard (R-Warner Robins), who says Wright’s heart for service and love of the community helped earn her endorsement.

“In politics, it’s just really rare to find a really true good friend that’ll support you, tell you the truth, and then give you their honest opinion,” Ballard said. “And he is one of those.” 

Wright played an instrumental role in the planning and completion of Center Park. Ballard believes that as mayor, Wright can build off the heavy foot traffic at the park and bring more economic development to the area.

“I think they need to grow from that and create a climate so that more businesses are attracted to Centerville so that the citizens of Centerville can do things in their own community,” Ballard said.

Wright has served as a member of the city council since 2016, and as lead pastor at Centerville Community Church since 2013. In the past two years, he cast the sole no vote against two increases to the city’s millage rate. He says fiscal responsibility would be a key focus for him as mayor, outlining plans for more development in the growing community like at Center Park.

“There’s a real desire for people to have public spaces to meet together, and I think that’s a need that the city can meet,” Wright said. 

Wright says although the campaign season will be shorter than he anticipated, his message remains the same. He says the people of Centerville agree on the need and potential for growth and that he plans to focus on the types of development and programs that will deliver it.

“You don’t wake up one day in a nice city; it takes a lot of forethought,” Wright said. “Houston County is a great example of leaders who in the past had a lot of forethought to get us to here. And I’m eager to be a part of the next generation of leaders that’s going to take us where we’re going to go.”

The special election to fill the open seat will take place sometime in June. An exact date hasn’t been announced.