Primary election races set for campaigning

It is election season, and Lee County voters have decisions to make across the board in the upcoming primaries.

Candidates became qualified with their respective parties last week. The party primaries will be held March 13, while the general election is set for Nov. 6.

The biggest race of the bunch, however, doesn't need the primary election to determine the candidates.

It is the campaign for the 3rd Congressional District seat in which Democrat John Andrew Harris will challenge incumbent Republican Mike Rogers.

Rogers has held his position since 2002 when he narrowly defeated Joe Turnham. He is also the chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security. Rogers has faced opposition five times for the position, and most recently defeated Democrat Steve Segrest of Montgomery in 2010.

Rogers, an Anniston native, secured 59 percent of the vote that year. He was previously a county commissioner in Calhoun County from 1987 to 1990.

"I look forward to a constructive campaign in issues that matter to the people of the Third District," Rogers said in a statement to The Auburn Villager.

Harris has worked in the child nutrition program for Auburn City Schools for more than three decades. He has served on the commission for the past 15 years.

On the judicial side, Auburn attorney J. Gary Black qualified to campaign against incumbent Russell K. Bush for Lee County District Judge, Place 2.

This isn't Black's first time running for office since he previously ran for Lee County District Attorney in 2010.

Both Black and Bush are Republicans, and there were no Democratic challengers.

Black has worked as a lawyer for nine years and was previously employed in law enforcement for 25 years.

Bush has served in this capacity since 2000 and ran unopposed six years ago.

Lee County Circuit Clerk Corrine Hurst, an 18-year veteran of the Justice Center, will reach the two-decade mark since she does not have any opposition for her position.

As for the position of Lee County Probate Judge, a member of the GOP will fill the role since he will be unopposed in November.

The upcoming primary will decide if incumbent Bill English or Jon Chase will man the position.

The probate judge serves as chairman of the Lee County Commission and also oversees the licensing, probate and public records offices at the courthouse.

English has served as the county's probate judge since 2001. If re-elected, the Opelika resident will begin a third term in the position, which is up for election every six years.

English had 17 years of experience in a probate office before embarking on his 12 years as a probate judge.

Chase, an Auburn resident and owner and founder of JAG Trucking in Opelika, is a newcomer when it comes to politics.

Two seats on the Lee County Commission are also up for grabs in November. One of them could be filled by a longtime Auburn City Councilwoman.

Incumbent J. Mathan Holt and Sheila Eckman, who represents Ward 2 on the Auburn City Council, will compete in the Republican primary for the District 1 seat on the commission. A Democrat did not qualify for the race.

Holt was not surprised to face oppossision in the upcoming primary.

"Right now this is a free country and anybody can throw their hat in the ring to campaign for seeking an office," Holt said to The Auburn Villager. "I know Ms. Eckman, and if this is what she wants to do, she has every right to do so and I don't fault her at that."

District 3 incumbent Gary Long won't face a challenger in the Republican primary, but he will face off in the general election with Dr. Brencleveton Donta Truss, the lone Democratic qualifier.

Four seats on the Lee County Board of Education are also available in the general election.

The first is that of District 4 in which Incumbent Roger Keel will challenge Shane Franks in the Republican primary. No Democrat qualified for the seat.

Another is the seat in District 5. Incumbent Fred Copeland Jr. is opposed in the GOP primary by Jeff Drury and Evelyn Harris. Again, no Democrat qualified for the seat.

The races for the District 6 and District 7 seats are a anticlimactic ones since incumbents Larry Patterson and Napoleon Stringer have no Democratic primary opposition, respectively, and no one qualified for the GOP primary.