BY TRACY LEE TATE
Special to the Times
In about a month and a half, Union County voters will have a couple of decisions regarding who will serve them locally and who the general election candidates will be nationally.
Locally, the school district positions and all but one of the constitutional officer slots have been filled, as the candidates ran without opposition. At the end of the qualifying period, they are considered to have been elected and will serve another term.
Superintendent Mike Ripplinger, Russell Gordon (School Board Seat 2), and Becky Raulerson (School Board Seat 4) will return for another term in the Union County School District.
More incumbents without opposition
Returning county officers include Donna Jackson (Board of Commissioners Seat One), Willie Croft (Board of Commissioners Seat Five), Bruce Dukes (Property Appraiser), Brad Whitehead (Sheriff), Deborah Osborne (Supervisor of Elections), and Lisa Johnson (Tax Collector).
Only two county races will be on the ballot on August 20, 2024 – Clerk of Court and Board of Commissioners Seat Three, left vacant by the retirement of long-time commissioner Jimmy Tallman. All of the candidates are running as Republicans, so the primary will be a Universal Primary Contest, with all voters, regardless of registered party, will be allowed to vote for their choice (but only District Three voters will be allowed to vote in the County Commission race).
Contested races
The race for the Clerk of Court position has two candidates – incumbent Kellie Hendricks Rhoades and Ryan Perez. The County Commission Seat Three race is a little more complicated, with six candidates running for the position. They are Chad Ali, Shelton Arnold Jr., Melissa McNeal, Ed Rainey, Danny Tomlinson, and Martie Touchstone. Although the field of candidates in this race is rather large, Supervisor of Elections Deborah Osborne said large fields are not unknown in local elections.
“I have seen as many as nine candidates run for a single office in my time at the elections office,” Osborne said.
Also on the ballot will be the decision concerning the renewal of the library funding measure and national contests for U.S. Congress and Senate seats.
A few dates for voters to remember are the date of the primary election (Aug. 20, 2024), the last day to register or change party (July 22, 2024), the last day to request a ballot by mail (August 8, 2022), and the dates for early voting (Aug. 10-17, 2024 at the Elections Office). Updates to signature cards may be done at any time.
The office of the Union County Supervisor of Elections maintains a website to assist voters in gaining answers to their questions at Unionflvotes.com. Other questions may be directed to the office at (386) 496-2236, or voters are welcome to drop by the elections office at 175 West Main St. in Lake Butler.
