NEWTON COUNTY – Qualifying for the 2025 municipal elections is just days away from opening. Starting on Monday, Aug. 18 at 8:30 a.m. those who wish to run for public office can officially enter their name on the ballot. 

The following political seats are up for grabs:

City of Covington

• Seats available: Post 1 East, Post 2 West, Post 3 West
• Qualifying duration: Aug. 18 - Aug. 21 (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.); Aug. 22 (8:30 a.m. - Noon)
• Qualifying location: Newton County Board of Elections and Registration (8135 Geiger St. NW)
• Qualifying fees: $360

Currently, the Post 1 East seat appears to be the most highly contested seat in this election cycle. A total of three candidates have already declared their intentions to run for the seat, after incumbent Susie Keck confirmed to The Covington News that she would not be running for reelection.

In April, Rev. Eric Threets announced his bid for the seat. Threets – an ordained minister and investigator with the Newton County Sheriff’s Office – is no stranger to city politics, having unsuccessfully run for mayor in 2019 and 2023. He also launched a campaign in 2015 for the Post 2 East seat, but was unsuccessful.

The following month, Dwayne Turner came out as the next political hopeful to enter his name in the race. Turner is a military veteran and current law enforcement officer. This will be his first time running for political office.

In June, Mayfield Ace Hardware owner Lee Mayfield declared his campaign for the seat on his Facebook page. However, on July 8, Mayfield announced that he would not be running for the seat. 

According to Mayfield, this came following conversations with city officials over impacts of the city’s purchasing policy. The city can only purchase up to $800 per quarter from a business affiliated to an elected official. Mayfield Ace is a signficiant vendor to the city of Covington.

“The city primarily purchases immediately needed & unanticipated items,” Mayfield wrote on his Facebook page.  “They believe that taking Mayfield Hardware out of service to the city would mean a lot more time spent driving to other cities to purchase items that could have been purchased locally.  As one of them put it, Lee, I get why you want to run, but the best way you can serve the City is by not taking Mayfield Hardware offline for the City.”

As for the remaining seats, Anthony Henderson will run for reelection. Charika Davis is likely to run for reelection, but she has not confirmed this as of press time. No other challengers are publicly known at this time.

City of Porterdale

• Seats available: Council Posts 2, 3 and 4.
• Qualifying duration: Aug. 18 - Aug. 22 (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)
• Qualifying location: Porterdale City Hall (2800 Main St.)
• Qualifying fees: $72

This will mark the third consecutive year that an election has taken place for the Post 3 seat in Porterdale.

The seat was formerly held by Michael Patterson, who was elected as mayor in 2023. Kelsey Peeples then won a special election to fill the seat, but resigned several months later due to her moving away from the area.

Current Councilwoman Leigh Canada was the only citizen to qualify last August and has held the seat for nearly a year. Canada is expected to run again, but has not publicly announced as of press time.

Incumbents for Posts 4 and 5, Jill Minnoia and Lowell Chambers, are likely to run for reelection.

City of Oxford

• Seats available: Council Posts 4, 5 and 6
• Qualifying duration: Aug. 18 - Aug. 22 (9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)
• Qualifying location: Oxford City Hall (110 W. Clark St.)
• Qualifying fees: $144

No declarations have been made public regarding the future of these seats. The current council members are Mike Ready, Jim Windham and Jeff Wearing.

City of Mansfield

• Seats available: Council Posts 1, 3, 4 and 5
• Qualifying duration: Aug. 18 - Aug. 20 (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)
• Qualifying location: Mansfield City Hall (3146 Highway 11 S.)
• Qualifying fees: $36

Post 1 will hold a special election, as the seat has been vacant for quite some time. Posts 3, 4 and 5 are currently held by Brandon Hays, Scott Colyn and Fred Purvis, respectively. It is not clear who intends to qualify for the seats at this time.

Town of Newborn

• Seats available: Post 1, Post 2, Mayor
• Qualifying duration: Aug. 18 - Aug. 20 (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)
• Qualifying location: Mansfield City Hall (4224 Highway 42)
• Qualifying fees: $25 for council members; $30 for mayor

Gregg Ellwanger has been mayor for over a decade. It is expected he will once again run for reelection. Robert Bratton and Tom Kreiger are the Post 1 and 2 representatives. It is not known if they will seek reelection.