Century, Jay gearing up for elections

Residents of Century and Jay will pay a visit to the polls this Tuesday, Aug. 28, to decide who they want to sit on their respective town councils. The Century Town Council has three seats with terms that will expire in January, 2019 while the town of Jay has two seats that expire in October 2018.

Century Councilwoman Sandra McMurray Jackson is running unopposed for seat 5. Contenders James Smith, Mary Hudson and John Brian Johnston will vie for Councilman Gary Riley's Seat 4. Riley announced last April he would not seek re-election due to health reasons.

Incumbent Ben Boutwell will face off against Oneal Dubose for council Seat 3.

Early voting for residents of Escambia County started Monday, Aug. 20.

The deadlines for voter registration dates are Aug. 28, 2018 for the Primary Election and Nov. 6, 2018 for the General Election, closing Oct. 9, 2018. Polls will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 28, at Century Town Hall.

The Century Town Charter designates that candidates for offices shall be elected by a majority vote of the qualified electors voting in general nonpartisan elections.

Candidate John Brian Johnston is a native of Century and is employed with CSX.

“I was born and raised in Century, I feel like I've lived through the prime of what Century was and have seen it kinda go downhill,” said Johnston. “I'm familiar with how the council works as my wife is a former council member. I'm not real supportive of a lot of decisions the council and mayor have made, and I'm not happy with the direction the town is headed. We have to work together to improve the situation. I'm not going to be a 'yes' man for council members or the mayor. I have no ties to any nor am I endorsed by them.”

Johnston said if he wins Seat 4, he would concentrate on running town business in an open, transparent manner, being fiscally responsible and trying to bring industry back to the town.

“I'm the person to give citizens a voice, I will listen to what all have to say,” said Johnston. “I would put Century back on track. We've got to get all the business out on the table before we address other issues. If we don't, they will dissolve Century, or take the town over. It's a top priority. We've got to pay our debts off, we can't make empty promises to the employees, we've got to make our town fiscally viable. Our top priority is to get the budget under control, then we can get our town on the way to making Century a booming town again.”

Jay election

Jay Councilwoman Jane Hayes and David Bush were appointed to the Jay council to fill Chubby Haveard and Shon Owens' empty council seats. Both terms end in October, 2018. Owens is running for mayor unopposed and Hayes is not seeking election.

Santa Rosa County early voting began Aug. 13 and ends Aug. 25, 2018. Voters in Precincts 3 and 4 will cast their votes from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., on Tuesday, Aug. 28, at the Linda Carden Community Center, located at 5259 Booker Lane in Jay.

Voters will see three candidates' names on the ballot, including Nina Hendricks, current Councilman David Bush and Josh Holloway running for the two council seats. The two candidates with the highest number of votes will win the two council seats.

“I am excited to be on the ballot for a position on the Jay Town Council,” said longtime Jay resident and candidate Hendricks. “This is a community role I have thought about for several years, and the timing was right for me to become a candidate for one of the two seats available for this term. I have been a resident of the area since I was eight years old and have so many fond memories of growing up here. I've been a full-time resident for 30 years, and I absolutely love living and working in our wonderful piece of God's country. I believe that Jay has so much to offer individuals, families, and the county. I would love to have the opportunity to be a part of the leadership of the Town of Jay. I think open communication between council members, the mayor, Town of Jay staff, and the residents and area townspeople is a great way to better understand what is important to ensure the sustainability and growth of Jay. I know everyone has ideas to make our town a better place, and I would like to help seek ways to reach as many goals as possible, while being financially responsible, and maintaining our culture and small-town way of life.

Candidate Holloway is a Jay native who returned to his home town.

“I grew up in the Jay area and left to go to preaching school in Tennessee,” said Holloway. “I spent many years traveling to several countries where I preached but I wanted to come back home to Jay, so I am now preaching at Jay Church of Christ on Highway 4. I started coming to council meetings and wanted to be supportive of local government. I want to be able to have a young person's and young family's perspective. My family is involved in different aspects of the community. I want to be involved in helping our town's revenue, so we can fix issues, like what's happening with our water, and not increase costs. I want to influence the town in a positive way. If we're looking at ways to improve things in this area, I wanted to have a Christian perspective on things. This has always been a small town environment and we don't want to lose that.”

Holloway's father-in-law was Chubby Haveard, who served on the Jay council several times until his death in 2017. Holloway said he saw Haveard in his role as a councilman dealing with a lot of the same issues the town is dealing with today.

“First, trying to tackle what we're up against right now, I'm concerned with issues like improving the water and overall quality of life of individuals who live in the Jay area,” said Holloway. “It's a major issue we are trying to address. Second, we need to work on figuring out a way to fix the problem by finding grants and other sources of funding instead of increasing charges. My mind set is to find a way to bring new revenue. Larger cities that have dealt with this in the past, and here in Jay, we have a smaller population of people and smaller funds, but we can figure out a way to generate revenue. It would not be my mindset to increase costs, but to bring new revenue and bring in new money. Thirdly, to invest in positive things in our community, like the youth and the recreation departments. Young people are the future.”

Holloway said if he wins he looks forward to working side by side with those on the council now.

“I know a lot of them personally, being from the area, I've known many of them for years.”