The May 24 Republican primary features both of the contested local races: the chairmanship of the Putnam Board of Commissioners and the District 2 seat on the Putnam Board of Education.
In all likelihood, the May 24 winner in the Republican race for the commission chairmanship will become the new chairman next January. The race boils down to a contest between former BOC chairman Steve Hersey and District 3 Commissioner Bill Sharp. A third candidate, Lee Coleman, announced last week that he was suspending his campaign.
However, Coleman’s name will still be on the ballot, which opens the door for the possibility of a runoff if Coleman still gathers votes and neither Hersey nor Sharp is able to crack the 50-percent-plus-one barrier.
No Democrat qualified for this particular race, which rules out anything but a miraculous write-in campaign as an opponent to the May Republican primary winner.
Meanwhile, in the District 2 Board of Education race, newcomers Kim McKinzie Cardwell and Lucille Feldman will compete in the Republican primary for the right to challenge long-time Democratic incumbent Simone Jones in the November general election.
Voters should be aware that both the local races are placed far down the ballot.
There are other local offices which voters will see on either ballot, but none have challengers.