Queen's withdrawal all but seals council race; Hayes runs as write-in against Mayor Bozarth

The makeup of Midway's City Council in 2011 is all but decided, because Council Member Diana Queen has withdrawn her candidacy, but the city still has two contested races: for mayor, between incumbent Tom Bozarth and write-in candidate Scott Hayes; and for magistrate of the First District, which includes Midway. That race is between Democratic Magistrate Larry Craig and Republican Curt Savage.

Queen formally withdrew her candidacy Aug. 16. That left six people running for six council seats, making the nonpartisan race largely a popularity contest. Voters may vote for six candidates, but can vote for fewer. The candidates are incumbents Sharon Turner, Aaron Hamilton and Doris Leigh; Becky Moore, who was mayor before Bozarth; and two candidates Moore calls "kindred spirits," Joye Arnold and Dan Roller.

Hayes, an emergency medical technician for Woodford County, said in an interview that he wanted to file a regular candidacy for mayor but was mistaken about the late-January deadline. Voters can write in the name of anyone for any office, but votes will be counted only for candidates who have filed a notice asking that they be counted, such as Hayes. For our item on the filings at deadline time, click here.