Ex-mayor to run for commission seat

Scott Dean resigned his position as Harlem's mayor Friday to run for a recently vacated Columbia County commission seat.

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The Harlem City Council held a called meeting Friday when Dean announced his resignation because of his intention to run for the District 4 commission seat vacated by Lee Anderson.

"It is sad and exciting all at the same time," Dean said regarding leaving the city after serving as mayor for more than five years. "We need someone on the county commission with a city perspective, but that will represent all of District 4."

Dean, a former city council member, was more than a year into his second four-year mayoral term.

State law requires candidates for elective office to first resign any other elective position.

Dean, who was first elected as mayor in November 2002, will be on the ballot of the July 15 special election for the commission seat. No other candidates have yet announced intentions of running for the position.

"We know where you live and when you get to be a commissioner, don't forget that," Mayor Pro Tem Rudolph Dixon joked with Dean at the meeting. "Seriously, I like your energy. I wish I had it. I've enjoyed and respected the way you went about your business and the way you got it done. ... We thank you for the work you have done and will do as a commissioner."

Qualifying for the commission seat runs from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. April 28 through May 1 and from 9 a.m. until noon May 2, according to the Columbia County Board of Elections.

Anderson said he intends to be on the July 15 ballot to replace state Rep. Barry Fleming for the District 117 state House seat. Fleming will take on U.S. Rep. Paul Broun for the District U.S. House seat.

Anderson will face Brett McGuire, of Appling, for the District 117 House seat.

Grovetown voters also will be headed to the polls in July to elect a replacement for longtime city Councilman David Daughtry, who died Feb. 19. Daughtry, who served 17 years on the council, was elected to a four-year term in November. The replacement will be elected to fill the remainder of the unexpired four-year term, city Manager Shirley Beasley said.

Grovetown voters must elect a replacement if more than a year remains in the unexpired term, Beasley said. City council members are allowed to appoint a replacement to fill a year or less of any unexpired term.

Qualifying for candidates for the Harlem mayoral seat and the Grovetown council seat will run from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. April 28-29 and from 8 a.m. until noon April 30.

Candidates to fill Daughtry's unexpired Grove-town City Council term must be registered voters, at least 25 years old and residents of the city for more than a year. The qualifying fee is $108.

Anyone interested in completing Dean's mayoral term, which ends Dec. 31, 2010, must be a city resident at least one year, a registered voter and at least 21 years old. The qualifying fee is $144.

Qualifying for the city seats can be done at the respective city halls. Qualifying for the county commission seat is held at the Board of Elections office in Evans.