By Bill Grubb

ROGERSVILLE — The presidential race may be the marquee match up on the November 4 ballot but voters in four Hawkins County municipalities will be electing local leaders.
    Thursday at noon was the deadline for candidates to file qualifying petitions for elections in Rogersville, Bulls Gap, Surgoinsville and Mount Carmel.
    Because of an oversight that failed to include two school board seats on the ballot in 2006, Rogersville voters will be electing four of the five members of the Rogersville City School Board.
    Board members William E. Phillips II, 312 Main Street, and R. Frank Testerman, 533 Nelson Street, are running unopposed for two-year terms on the board.  The seats will be on the ballot again in 2010 and the winning candidates will be elected to four-year terms.
    Board members Reed Matney, 812 Douglas Drive, Dan Brooks, 306 West Hills Drive, and challenger Todd Biggs, 400 E. McKinney Avenue, are seeking seats three and four on the RCS board.    
    Bulls Gap voters will be electing a mayor and four aldermen to two-year terms of office.
    Mayor Robin Horner, 122 Glenwood Avenue, faces no opposition in his race for a second two-year term.  Incumbents Jimmy Sexton, 113 York Street, Susan Williams, 113 Quillen Avenue, Charles Johnson, 329 Easy Street, and Rickey Pete Shipley, 957 N. Main Street, all filed paper work to seek re-election.  John H. Barnes, Jr., 122 Glenwood Avenue, and Charles H. Roark, 115 S. Main Street, are also seeking one of the four aldermen seats.
    In Surgoinsville five candidates are in the race for one of three aldermen slots.  The winning candidates will serve four-year terms.
    Incumbent Don Thurman, 110 Goodson Street, filed a qualifying petition.  Other candidates seeking one of the three seats include Marc Borghetti, 2117 Main Street, Hanes Cooper, 306 Church Street, Larry L. Dykes, 232 Zion Hill Road, and Joe McLain, 3481 Highway 11W.
    Mount Carmel voters will be electing a mayor and three aldermen, all for four-year terms.
    Incumbent Mayor Gary Lawson, 522 Greenbriar Circle, is running unopposed.  Incumbents Eugene Christian, 1517 McCracken Lane, and Carl E. Wolfe, 315 Hemlock, are seeking re-election to the BMA.   William Blakely, 408 Hammond Avenue, L. Paul Hale, 236 Atlanta Avenue, and Kathy Roberts, 200 Independence Avenue, round out the field of five candidates seeking one of the three aldermen seats.
    Candidates have until August 28 to withdraw from the municipal elections.
    The November ballot will also feature the fourth district state senate race between incumbent independent Mike Williams, 8752 Corryton Road, Corryton, and Republican Mike Faulk, 1001 Darby Court, Kingsport
    The ninth district state representative race involves incumbent Republican Mike Harrison, 115 Green Acres Drive, Rogersville, Democrat Richard Gabriel, 341 Cypress Street, Mount Carmel, and independent Leonard Merritt, 2024 Pressmen’s Home Road, Rogersville.              Incumbent Republican Dale Ford faces no opponent in his race for re-election to his sixth district seat in the state house of representatives.    
    Hawkins County voters will also be electing a new congressman, with Republican Phil Roe, Democrat Rob Russell, and independents Joel Goodman, Thomas (T.K.) Owens and James Reeves seeking to take the office held by David Davis, who was defeated by Roe in the Republican Primary.
    Incumbent Republican U. S. Senator Lamar Alexander is being challenged by Democrat Robert Tuke and six independent candidates, Edward L. Buck, Christopher G. Fenner, David Gatchell, Ed Lawhorn, Daniel Towers Lewis and Chris Lugo.
    Voters have until October 6 to register to vote in the November 4 election.   

bill.grubb@therogersvillereview.com