Voters to Elect Mayor, Council, School Board

This year for the first time, elections for both the City of Central and the Central Community School Board will be held at the same election.
Qualifying will be held July 18-20 for
City of Central
• Mayor
• Police Chief
• Five City Council members elected from five single-member districts
• Two City Council members elected at-large citywide
Central Community Schools
• Seven School Board members elected from seven single-member school board districts.
This election will also mark the first time that Central’s City Council will be elected from single-member districts. Up until now, the five members of the City Council have been elected at-large citywide.
Now there will be only two at-large seats with the remainder elected from districts.
One confusing thing about the election is that the City Council districts do not coincide with the School Board districts. There are five City Council districts and seven School Board districts.
How Many Votes Will You Have — Each voter will cast the following votes:
• One vote for Mayor
• One vote for Police Chief
• One vote for a City Council member from the Council district where you reside
• Two votes for City Council members at-large citywide
• One vote for a School Board member from your district.
Of course, this assumes that every race will be contested, and that is seldom the case.
The primary election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018 at the same time voters across the nation go to the polls to elect members of Congress and U.S. Senate.
The runoff, a feature of the election unique to Louisiana, will be held on Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018.
Who’s Running —So far as we know, the following incumbents are planning to run for reelection:
Mayor — Jr. Shelton
Police Chief — James Salsbury
Council Members at Large (Elect Two) — Wayne Messina (R)
Council District 1 — Incumbent Council member Wayne Messina resides in this district, but he will seek an at-large seat.
Council District 2 — Incumbent John Vance has not stated his intentions.
Council District 3 — Incumbent Dr. Kim Fralich has not announced her intentions.
Council District 4 — Incumbents Shane Evans and Jason Ellis have not announced their intentions
Council District 5 — No incumbent
Central School Board. All of the following members of the Central Community School Board are believed to be running for reelection:
District 1 — Jim Lloyd
District 2 — Roxanne Atkinson
District 3 — Dr. David Walker
District 4 — Will Easley
District 5 — Dr. Jim Gardner
District 6 — Ruby Foil
District 7 — Sharon Browning
No Special Requirements to run for office. In general, any registered can run for any of the offices on the ballot.
Board of Ethics Requirements.
Many individuals who are considering running for office may not realize that a candidate for public office in Louisiana has to file
• An income disclosure form and
• Comply with Campaign Finance Laws
These requirements affect different people in different ways, depending on their sources of income, the assets they own, and the specific office they are running for.
Central City Council member Wayne Messina said citizens thinking about running should do their homework and study the regulations, so that they are not embarrassed later.
He said you need to understand how the office would affect your job, your family life, and your time.
Messina said, “You must have a thick skin, be able to make tough decisions, and take the heat!”
While there are many negatives to serving in public office, the rewards that come from serving the people of your community are great. It is an opportunity to serve the people you most care about and make a positive difference in their lives.