• Valdosta City Council District 2



Deidra White

Dr. L.W. Williams

David G. DeMersseman

David L. Dempsey

No endorsement



With Councilman Willie Head’s decision not to seek another term as the representative for District 2, it left the door wide open for challengers. Five initially qualified, with one candidate dropping out of the race before early voting began.

None of the candidates remaining in the race have government experience. DeMersseman comes closest as an elected tax assessor some time ago, but none has experience with the volumes of issues facing the city.

Of the candidates, White comes the closest to being the candidate of choice for the seat. She has business experience and she is very familiar with the issues facing Downtown Valdosta, an area the city doesn’t support to the satisfaction of many of the property owners.

White has the endorsement of the Downtown Valdosta Business Association and she has experience in leadership roles in a variety of organizations in the community. As a female, she would be only the third to be elected in the history of the male-dominated council and could bring a fresh perspective to the position.

Kudos to White for bravely discussing her property-tax issues. All of the candidates have faced either personal or professional issues, and she owned up to hers well. In addition, White is the only candidate who has actively attended city council meetings.

However, the job of a city councilman is time consuming, and can be all consuming, and all four candidates have businesses to tend to. It’s a sacrifice in many ways to serve in an elected capacity, and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Given the demands of the position and the lack of experience of the candidates, The Times has chosen not to endorse for the seat.



• Valdosta City Council District 6



Charles Robert Yost

John E. Johnson Sr.



The race for the City Council District 6 seat has two contenders for the office, incumbent Robert Yost and challenger John E. Johnson Sr.

Yost has the obvious edge over his challenger as he is experienced, knows the issues in his district, and won’t have a learning curve to jump in and address them. Much of the Valdosta State University campus and surrounding business and residential area fall within this district, and Yost has been a champion for keeping residential neighborhoods intact and lessening the increasing encroachment of businesses, particularly in the areas immediately off Baytree.

Yost was instrumental in the new community center on Gornto Road, and has genuinely shown an interest in his constituents and their problems.

While Yost can be antagonistic in meetings, persistently questioning issues, that’s not necessarily always a bad thing. At least he won’t vote for an issue until he fully understands it.

The Times has one qualm with Yost. When running for his first term, he said it would be his only one, that he didn’t intend to become a career politician. When running for a second term, Yost said he had a few more things he wanted to do in his district, but indicated he wouldn’t run again. And yet, he is now running for a third term. While the Times agrees that he is the best candidate for the job, another four years in office should be enough for Yost to accomplish the things he says he wants to see done for the city of Valdosta.

Vote for Charles Robert Yost on Tuesday.



• Valdosta Board of Education , District 4



Dean Rexroth

Micah I. Hollimon



Incumbent District 4 Valdosta school board member Dean Rexroth faces a challenge for the seat by Micah I. Holliman.

In August 2008, Rexroth became an appointed school board member, filling a vacated seat on the Valdosta Board of Education. We believe he deserves an opportunity to continue in the post as a fully elected school board member for Disttrict 4.

Rexroth has proven to be a thoughtful member of the Valdosta Board of Education. He credits the school system’s successes while citing needed improvements.

He sees BOE members acting with administrators in the leadership of the schools. He wants to see improvements in the system’s technical curriculum and facilities at Valdosta High, and an expansion in the system’s mentorship programs such as Community Partners in Education.

Having children in the city schools for a combined total of 32 years, Rexroth is familiar with the school system.

Rexroth has also noted in a past interview with The Valdosta Daily Times that he has “found both my voice and my stride with the other board members and the administration.”

We agree. Rexroth deserves the opportunity to build on the past year of his appointment with a term in his own right.

We believe he will build upon what he has called his “freshman year” on the board. He has no learning curve to overcome. If elected, he will already be familiar with the workings of the board and, more importantly, the needs of the schools.



• Valdosta Board of Education , Superward East District 7



Christopher Brandon

Debra Bell

Christopher Burgman



Three challengers seek the Valdosta Board of Education Superward East District 7 seat being vacated by long-time incumbent Willie Jones.

Debra H. Bell, Christopher Brandon, and Christopher Burgman vie to become the next District 7 representative.

Each is a relative newcomer to area politics. Based on this, we place our support with Christopher Brandon.

As a staff member with Lowndes Drug Action Council (LODAC), Brandon works with city school students each day. As a center facilitator for the Hudson-Dockett Community Center, he implements programs for children and adults in public housing.

He is also a youth minister with Greater Pleasant Temple Missionary Baptist Church, where he works with youths and college-age students. He is involved with the Georgia Association of Housing and Redevelopment Authorities Youth Leadership Conference. He has served as an advisor with the Valdosta Youth Leadership Council. He also works as a Community Partner in Education, mentoring students at Southeast and J.L. Lomax elementary schools.

We believe these experiences give Brandon first-hand opportunities to see what students need from the city school system. They should provide him with insight into how schools and the school system can better reach students.

We also believe Christopher Brandon will bring a younger perspective to the Valdosta Board of Education. Brandon could become a BOE member who is the students’ advocate.



• Valdosta Board of Education At-Large



Jeana Fowler Beeland

Thomas W. Smoot



As she completes her initial term as the Valdosta Board of Education’s at-large representative, Jeana F. Beeland recently noted that she is “fortunate to have the opportunity to contribute to something as important as our community’s children and their education.”

She enjoys attending all those Monday night board meetings and work sessions, as well as serving on Parent Teacher Organizations at both Valdosta High School and Valdosta Middle School and the Valdosta Early College Academy’s Board.

She is a regular spectator at school events — not just the ones involving her children. As a board member, she knows that all of the boys and girls in the Valdosta City School System are a part of her extended family and celebrates their many accomplishments right along with them.

Valdosta is her home and she graduated from Valdosta High School. She recently said, “Many students, parents, teachers and community leaders are comfortable contacting me with their suggestions and concerns and I appreciate their help with the issues. No one person can know everything that is happening in a school system as large as Valdosta’s.”

She is known for her e-mail updates of things happening in the school system, for her quick response when there is a problem, for her support of everything from academics to the arts to athletics. She visits the schools, stands in the halls and listens, making every effort to stay on top of what is happening.

We encourage you to support Jeana F. Beeland in her quest to be re-elected to the Valdosta Board of Education At-Large District seat.



• Valdosta Board of Education, Superward West District 8



Kelly Clark Wilson

Dr. Chassitty LaSha Loving



As a parent, Kelly C. Wilson has been involved in the Valdosta City School System for a decade. She has served on School Councils and Parent Teacher Organizations, volunteered in classrooms, helped to raise funds and attended a number of board of education meetings. She is a product of the public school system, a former teacher and the mother of four children, three of whom attend school in the Valdosta City School System. She recently said that because of her involvement in the schools over the years, many teachers and parents have encouraged her to consider serving.

She believes that effective communication is the key to success and hopes to help the Valdosta Board of Education develop a better way for the citizens to express their views to their representatives.

She supports the rise in the number of specialty programs offered to students of every ability — from the AVID Program which encourages at-risk students to take Honors and AP classes to the International Baccalaureate Program which takes the high school’s gifted and motivated students and introduces them to the best of what the world, not just America, has to offer.

She truly believes that opportunities are available for every student to achieve in the city school system, such as transportation for free tutoring programs.

She knows education from both the inside and outside and has the experience and passion necessary to represent the men, women and children of Superward West District 8.

We encourage you to support Kelly C. Wilson as she seeks to be elected to the Valdosta Board of Education Superward West District 8 seat.