Candidates qualify for primary election

Published 8:00 am Thursday, November 14, 2019

Qualifying for the March 3, 2020, primary election has ended, and there are three races in Chambers County with multiple candidates.

One of the larger races in the March primary will be the Chambers County Superintendent of Education race.

On the Republican side of the ticket will be current Superintendent Kelli Hodge. Hodge was appointed to the position in October 2011, as she filled the unexpired term of Leonard Riley. She was then re-elected in November 2012 and 2016 during the general election.

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She will be challenged in the primary by Valley High School Vice Principal Casey Chambley, who launched his campaign in July. Chambley has served as an educator since 2002 and has been an administrator at both LaFayette and Valley High Schools.

On the Democratic side, Winford Ashmore has qualified to run unopposed for superintendent. Ashmore also ran on the Democratic ticket in 2016 as a superintendent candidate.

Staying in education, the only contested Chambers County Board of Education race will be in District 4. Both candidates are on the Republican ticket and current incumbent Mary Terry is not seeking reelection.

Jay Siggers, a local business owner in Lanett, will look for a seat on the board, competing against Doug Thomas of Valley, who announced his candidacy Nov. 2 on social media.

The final contested race in Chambers County will be for the Revenue Commissioner seat. Both of the candidates are also on the Republic side of the ballot.

Current Revenue Commissioner Elizabeth Abney qualified to stay in the position after she was appointed by Gov. Kay Ivey to complete the unexpired term of Wendy Williams in February.

She will be challenged by Shannon Frailey, who is currently a patrol sergeant with the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office. He also owns a business named Cops Carpet Cleaning Service in Valley.

Unopposed races include Candance Lyons, who represents Chambers County Board of Education District 2. Lyons who was appointed in January by the school board.

Chambers County Commissioners Charlie Williams, Doug Jones, both Democrats, and Sam Bradford, who is a Republican, also have qualified for reelection.