Danville City Council Race – Update #2

Last Update: Danville City Council Race – Update #1

We’ve had a few surprises but the race picture is getting clearer. Somewhat.

Let’s take a look at the incumbents:

• Gary Miller – He’s in the race. You can read his kickoff speech here.
• Wayne Oakes – Surprisingly (to me), he’s out. That’s a loss for Danville’s leadership.
• Ruby Archie – Archie has also decided not to run. Another loss for Danville.
• Adam Tomer – No word from Tomer yet, but I’ll ask him again tomorrow at City Council’s meeting.

Now, the declared challengers:

• Alonzo Jones – Jones was the first to declare and get himself on the ballot. So far, he looks like a strong candidate.
• John Gilstrap – Gilstrap is a popular man around town and is also a strong candidate.

BreakDown: Nothing much has changed except the surprising decision of Wayne Oakes to retire. With two open seats, Jones & Gilstrap are the front-runners since they’re the only candidates (duh). Gary Miller should have very little problem getting re-elected. Adam Tomer’s the big question mark. If he decides to run, he should be as safe as Miller. If he decides not to run, the field becomes wide open. We still haven’t got word of anybody else that’s planning on running. Could this be Cecil Bridgeforth’s year to finally get on Council? Will Neal Morris try again? More to come as soon as we learn things…