Qualifying underway for Warner Robins mayor, city council seats

WARNER ROBINS, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Qualifying for Warner Robins’ general election began Monday morning, with the mayor and three city council seats up for election.

“Anyone who’s eligible, they’re more than willing to come in and speak with us,” Election Superintendent, Michelle Riley said.

As of Monday five people declared their candidacy, with Jim Taylor the first to file for the City Council Post 1 seat. He declared his candidacy last week. 

“We wanted to make sure we were, not necessarily we were out there first; I thought there’d be a line but I’ll take it for what it is,” Taylor said. “A lot of us went ahead and picked up our packet a couple weeks ago, I just wanted to make sure I do it right, not stub my toe on anything because this is my first run at a political office.”

To qualify as a candidate, you’re asked to go to the Homer J Walker Municipal Complex on Watson Blvd. and fill out a packet of information. Riley says it takes about 15 minutes. She’s expecting more candidates than the five who showed up on Monday.

The fee to run for mayor is $3,000 and the fee to run for city council is $250.

As of Monday, Mayor Randy Toms filed for re-election and Joe Musselwhite is running to challenge him for the seat.

Jim Taylor and Jeffery Walker filed to run for the City Council Post 1 (at large) seat. Incumbent, Clifford Holmes, is running again for the City Council Post 5.

The last day to qualify is Aug. 25 at 4:30 p.m. The last day to register and be eligible to vote in this election will be October 10. Early voting
begins October 16 and Election Day is Nov. 7.

As for Taylor, now that the paperwork is done, he’s ready to start sharing his platform of working towards safety, a sustainable budget, and jobs.