That elections will be held in Catoosa County this November is a given. What names will be on the ballot and if it will only involve voters in the city of Fort Oglethorpe is uncertain at this time.
“The only thing we know at this point is that Fort Oglethorpe will vote for a mayor, two council seats and a referendum,” said John Campbell, custodian of elections for the county.
As of last week, incumbent Lynn Long’s sole challenger in his bid for re-election is Ken Marks, currently a member of the Catoosa County Commission.
“Since actual qualification is from Aug. 29 through Aug. 31, it is too early to tell if this will be more than a two-man race,” Orma Luckey, superintendent of elections in Fort Oglethorpe, said in reference to that city’s mayoral election.
Long served on the city council from 1978-1982 and was elected the county commission’s first chairman, a position he held from 1992-1996. In 2010 voters selected Long from a four-man field to fill the unexpired term of Mayor Ronnie Cobb who died of a heart attack last August.