Meet the Candidates Forum Set for Smyrna's Ward 7

Smyrna’s election is five weeks from today and there’s already a mayoral open forum scheduled for later this month. Now there will be a city council forum for at least one of the wards that is being contested for by multiple candidates.

On Monday Oct. 17, the Vinings Estates Homeowners Association will host a “Meet the Candidates’’ forum at the Crescent Ridge Clubhouse located at 655 Crescent Ridge Trail. The 7:30 p.m. event will allow the four candidates seeking to replace Charles Pete Wood as Smyrna’s Ward 7 councilman to present their platform to the 855-plus homeowners in Vinings Estates, as well as to field questions from interested residents in the community.

The four candidates are Ron Fennel, Garry Osborne, Ziad Salameh and Vic Yankouski. The forum is currently slated for the precise time when the next Smyrna city council meeting will be held.

From the other wards, three candidates are running unopposed. They are Ward 3 Councilwoman Teri Anulewicz, newcomer Andrea Blustein in Ward 2, and Ward 6 Councilman Wade Lnenicka.

The Ward 1 race is between John Miller and incumbent Melleny Pritchett.

The Ward 4 race is between Alex Bretch, Judith Causey Jones, incumbent Mike McNabb and Charles “Corkey’’ Welch, who announced at Monday’s city council meeting that he will be hosting a “Meet and Greet’’ next week at the . The event will take place Thursday, Oct. 13 from 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.

The Ward 5 race is between newcomers Michael Hyde, Jason Saliba and Susan Dease Wilkinson.

Current Councilmen Wood, Ron Newcomb of Ward 2, and Jimmy Smith of Ward 5, are not running for reelection.

Mayor Max Bacon is facing challengers Alex Backry and Donna Short Woodham. The election is set for Tuesday, Nov. 8. Smyrna residents who are qualified to register to vote and are not currently registered, may register to vote through the close of business on Tuesday, October 11.