Less than 24 hours before today’s Caledonia municipal elections, not all the hay was in the barn, said the two men vying for mayor.
Both incumbent Bill Lawrence and challenger Mitchell Wiggins spent a soggy Monday making last-ditch appeal to voters.
“I’m busy handing door hangers that say when and where to vote and who to vote for,” said Lawrence, who is seeking his third term as mayor and second consecutive term.
“Right now, I’m seeing people today and we have people making phone calls,” said Wiggins, who entered the mayor’s race as his first term on the town’s board of aldermen comes to a close.
Both candidates anticipate a close race, but both are optimistic.
“I feel pretty good about the momentum we have,” Wiggins said. “The feedback has been very positive.”
Lawrence, meanwhile, said he’s careful not to make comparisons to previous races he’s run. Lawrence was elected as mayor in 2004, lost his reelection bid to George Gerhart in 2008 and reclaimed the mayor’s office 2012.
“Every race is different because things change each time,” Lawrence said. “But I do think things are going well.”
The mayor’s race is not without controversy.
In May, Richard Hayes, formerly the town’s marshal, filed a lawsuit against Wiggins and the town — for which Lawrence serves as chief executive — for defamation. In the suit, Hayes claims that, in February 2016, Wiggins accused Hayes of having an adulterous affair with a town employee. The lawsuit alleges Wiggins made the accusation while “acting as an alderman for the town of Caledonia” and seeks $1 million.
Lawrence admitted he later mediated a meeting between Hayes and Wiggins to resolve the issue, but it was unsuccessful.
While the suit caused a stir in the small community, neither candidate believes it will play much of a factor in today’s mayoral race.
“The feedback that I’ve been getting from voters is that they know the characters involved in this and recognize it for what it is: An 11th hour political tactic,” Wiggins said.
Lawrence said the suit hasn’t emerged as an issue among the voters he’s met, either.
“Not a single person has mentioned it,” Lawrence said. “And I’m fine with that.”
Whoever emerges as victor Monday will work with a board of alderman dominated by newcomers with just two incumbents seeking a return to the board.
Along with Wiggins — two other aldermen — Steve Honnell and Brenda Willis — are not seeking re-election to the five-member board.
Incumbents Bill Darnell and Quinn Parham are joined by seven other candidates — Matt Atkins, Tyler Brock, Timothy Butler, Jack Jackson, Matt Furnari, Tammy McCool and Buzzy Vizgard.
All of the aldermen are selected at-large, which means the top five vote-getters tonight will be elected to serve when the new term begins on July 1.
Voting at the lone precinct — The Caledonia Community Center — will be held from 7 a.m. Until 7 p.m. today.
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Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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