by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
City Council member Reggie Fullwood is going to be one busy man this summer.
On July 7, he will resign from Council in order to run against Audrey Gibson for Gibson’s State House of Representatives District 15 seat. He’ll also juggle his Council duties and his family and business obligations.
By state law Fullwood has to resign 10 days before the July 17-21 qualifying period for this fall’s state elections.
“The effective date of my resignation will be the day when I would take office,” said Fullwood.
Gibson was elected in 2002 and Fullwood admits running against an incumbent will be tough, but it’s not like he doesn’t have any political experience himself.
“It’s certainly tougher to beat an incumbent,” said Fullwood, who is president of Rhino Harbor Development. “The advantage I have is that I have been an elected official for seven years now.”
Gibson said she isn’t thinking about the election right now and she isn’t surprised she has an opponent. With the current legislative session winding down, there’s still plenty to do in Tallahassee.
“I don’t do my job with that thought in the back of my mind. In a Democratic society, anybody is free to run,” said Gibson.”I am surprised it’s a supposed Democrat, a Council person who supposedly understands the workings of a two-party system.”
State laws prevent Gibson from raising money with the session is in, but not from campaigning.
“I’m not in campaign mode right now. I’m in work mode,” she said, adding she expects the campaign to be cordial. “My work speaks for me and my constituents know that.”
Win or lose, Fullwood’s resignation will leave a hole on Council for about six months. Steven Rohan, an attorney with the Office of General Counsel, said a bill sponsored by Council Vice President Michael Corrigan was drafted to address such resignations. However, that bill calls for a special election only if three or more Council members resign or seek another position. Rohan said the spot could also simply be left vacant until after the spring 2007 elections.
Fullwood also has higher aspirations.
“At some point I would like to run for mayor one day,” he said. “I am definitely not interested in governor, but I would like to run for mayor or United States Congress one day.”
The following is a list of who is running for public office next spring. The primary election is April 10 and the general election is May 8.
Constitutional officers
Mayor
John Peyton (R) — incumbent
Sheriff
Dale Carson (D)
John Rutherford (R) — incumbent
Supervisor of Elections
Jerry Holland (R) — incumbent
Property Appraiser
No one has yet filed.
• Jim Overton is the incumbent.
Tax Collector
No one has yet filed.
• Mike Hogan is the incumbent.
City Council
At-Large
Group 1
Ronnie Fussell (R) — incumbent
Group 2
Karl “Jay” Jabour III (R)
• Incumbent Elaine Brown can’t run due to term limits.
Group 3
Jack Capra (R)
Stephen Joost (R)
• Incumbent Lad Daniels can’t run due to term limits.
Group 4
Kevin Hyde (R) — incumbent
Group 5
Gwen Chandler (R)
Glorious Johnson (R) — incumbent
District 1
Cheryl Grymes (R)
Clay Yarborough (R)
• Incumbent Lake Ray can’t run due to term limits.
District 2
Terry Akins (R)
William Bishop III (R)
Dr. Ellan Duke (R)
Jay Olchak (D)
• Incumbent Lynette Self can’t run due to term limits.
District 3
Richard Clark (R) — incumbent
District 4
George Banks (R)
Earl Johnson Jr. (R)
Don Redman (R)
• Incumbent Suzanne Jenkins can’t run due to term limits.
District 5
Art Shad (R) — incumbent
District 6
Sharon Copeland (R) – incumbent
Jack Webb (R)
District 7
Marc McCullough Sr. (D)
William Sweet (D)
• Incumbent Pat Lockett-Felder can’t run due to term limits.
District 8
E. Denise Lee (D)
• Incumbent Gwen Yates can’t run due to term limits.
District 9
Jimmy Midyette Jr. (D)
Valveta Turner (D)
• Incumbent Reggie Fullwood is running for State House of Representatives; he is also unable to run for another Council term due to term limits.
District 10
Mia Jones (D) — incumbent
District 11
Richard Berry (R)
Jack Daniels (R)
Frank Hardin (R)
Thomas Harris (R)
Ray Holt (R)
Ray Pringle (R)
Bob Taylor (R)
• Incumbent Warren Alvarez can’t run due to term limits.
District 12
Daniel Davis (R) — incumbent
District 13
Art Graham (R) — incumbent
District 14
Michael Corrigan Jr. (R) — incumbent