Qualifying Ends With Contested Races In Woodstock

WOODSTOCK, GA -- The city of Woodstock has closed out the qualifying period for its 2017 municipal elections, and its longtime mayor will face a challenger from a familiar face around the city.

The qualifying period ended Wednesday afternoon for the Nov. 7 elections, and incumbent Mayor Donnie Henriques will be challenged by former City Council member Liz Baxter.

Baxter is a former City Council member who served two terms in the Ward 4 seat before she was defeated by Tracy Collins in 2007. She recaptured the seat in 2011 only to be defeated again by Collins in 2015 (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app).

For the Ward 1 race, incumbent Warren Johnson will face challenger Dennis Conway while Ward 3 incumbent Bob Mueller will have to fight off contenders Colin Ake and Judy Davila.

Ward 5 incumbent Bud Leonard is not seeking re-election and only one candidate, Brian G. Wolfe, will run unopposed.

Like Woodstock-Towne Lake Patch on Facebook!

Along with the city's election, voters countywide will consider renewing the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, or SPLOST. If approved, Cherokee County and each of its cities will get funding to carry out various capital improvement projects.

The deadline to register to vote for the Nov. 7 election is Tuesday, Oct. 10.

Image via Shutterstock