The list of candidates vying for local elected city seats is taking shape with a few more people throwing their hats into the ring. So far, 17 people have picked up petitions at the DeKalb County Election Commission to qualify for August 4 municipal elections. City elections will be held in Smithville, Alexandria, Liberty, and Dowelltown.

Early voting for the May 3, 2022 DeKalb Primaries will be held April 13 through April 28, 2022.

At the DeKalb County Courthouse in Smithville, early voting hours will be as follows:

Mondays 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Tuesdays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Wednesdays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Thursdays 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Fridays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (no voting on Good Friday)
Saturdays 9 a.m. to Noon.

At the Alexandria Fairgrounds:

Tuesday April 19, 2022, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Monday April 25 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Polls Open on Election Day at 8 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. The election commission encourages voters to put these times on their calendar for future reference.

The qualifying deadline for the August 4 elections, and state primary, is Thursday, April 7, 2022, at 12:00 Noon, with the withdrawal deadline on April 14, 2022, at 12:00 Noon. State primary elections will be held on August 4, for State Governor, U.S. House of Representatives, and Tennessee House of Representatives. General elections will also be held for state judicial offices and county seats.

In Smithville, the mayor and two aldermen will be elected, each to serve a four-year term. Beth Chandler, Don Crook, and Rhonda Tiefenauer have returned petitions for the alderman race, while incumbent Mayor Joshua M. Miller has returned a petition in his bid for reelection.

Alexandria will elect a mayor and three aldermen each to a four-year term, as well as two Aldermen to fill unexpired terms. Allen Lawson has picked up a petition for the alderman race, while Lloyd D. Dyer and Jana Beth Tripp have picked up and returned petitions for the mayor’s race.

In Liberty the mayor and five aldermen will be elected to four-year terms. Joe D. Bratten, Derek Johnson, Kevin R. Mullinax, William H. Reynolds, Kendra Stanford, and James Ryan Dodd have picked up petitions for the alderman race. Darrell W. Johnson, Audrey M. Martin, and Jason Hayes Ray have received a petition from the Election Office for the mayor’s race.

In Dowelltown voters will elect two Aldermen to a full four-year term. Greg Fish has picked up a petition for the alderman race.

Daniel D. Cripps has returned a petition for DeKalb County Commissioner District 1 as an Independent candidate, while Tony Luna is in the race in District 3. Wayne Cantrell is running as an Independent in District 4.

In the School Board Race, Danny Parkerson has returned a petition for District 1, Tony Poss District 4, and Shaun Tubbs for District 7.

In the meantime, Smithville businessman Michael Hale has picked up a qualifying petition for the Republican nomination for the two-year term of the 40th District State Representative seat, currently held by Terri Lynn Weaver. Tom Cook has also picked up a petition for that race.

Weaver was first elected in 2008, and has also been issued a petition in Smith County to seek the GOP nomination for reelection. Neither Weaver nor Hale have filed their petitions.

With redistricting, the new makeup of the 40th District includes Jackson, Smith, and Cannon in addition to DeKalb and a small portion of Wilson.

The deadline for voter registration for the August Election is July 5, 2022, with early voting for the August Election July 15-30, 2022.