6 council seats attract 4 incumbents, 8 others

Twelve candidates filed for the six seats on the Midway City Council in the November election, including incumbents Aaron Hamilton, age 62; Doris Leigh, left, 82; Dan Roller, 63; and Sharon Turner, 49.

Council members serve two-year terms; the mayor serves four years. The offices are nonpartisan, but if 13 or more candidates had filed for the six seats, a primary would have been held in May to reduce the field to 12.

Others who filed their candidacy petition and campaign-finance papers with County Clerk Judie Woolums by today's 4 p.m. deadline were:

• Michael Ashton, 67, 112 Richardson St. Among the three people signing his petition was Assistant City Clerk Diane Shepard, who said she met him only recently. She also signed Hamilton's papers.
• Steven Craig, 40, 235 S. Brand St., brother of Midway Magistrate Larry Craig. His papers were signed by Lawton and Lisa Foley of the 200 block of Johnson St.
• Sara Hicks, 60, 208 Wausau Place. Her three signers included Council Member Joy Arnold, who is not seeking re-election.
• Kevin Locke, 40, 206 N. Gratz St., an architect. He had 20 signers, including former council member Charlann Wombles and her husband Jim, haberdasher Crittenden Rawlings and dentist John Moore, husband of recently resigned council member Becky Moore.
• Steve Simoff, 61, 424 S. Winter St., whose first two signers were the Moores. Rawlings was among the others.
• Bruce Southworth, 55, 237 E. Stephens St., former public-works director in Midway and Versailles. He had many signers, including Lisa Foley.
• Grayson Vandegrift, 29, 23 N. Gratz St., manager of 815 Prime, president of the Midway Business Association and chairman of the county tourism commission. He also had many signers, led by Mayor Tom Bozarth. He said he had decided to run before telling Bozarth, but said the mayor encouraged him.
• Libby Warfield, 59, 251 W. Cross St.

More information about the candidates will be reported later.