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If your name is Mike, you’re in great position to win in the local mayoral municipal elections in 2023. That’s because all three — Mike Rogers (Clemmons), Mike Horn (Lewisville) and Mike Brannon (Bermuda Run) — are running unopposed in the Nov. 7 election.

Last Friday at noon was the deadline for candidates to pay the $5 fee to file for local offices.

Rogers, a longtime council member in the village who first claimed a seat in 2011, threw his hat into the ring to run for mayor for the first time in 2021 when he also was the only candidate on the ballot. He replaced John Wait, who served a pair of two-year terms but did not seek re-election two years ago.

Rogers said he was “honored and thrilled” to be elected as the new mayor two years ago, never dreaming he would be in that position after grabbing a seat on the council as a write-in candidate 10 years earlier.
Horn, who has served five terms as mayor in Lewisville and eight additional terms as a council member, went through a period of several months earlier this year in considering whether to seek another term.

“Often times we look at what we’ve accomplished in the past as a justification for our decisions going forward,” Horn said after making his decision to run again. “While there is value in that reasoning, I would rather look to the future and what is still possible to accomplish and how I can best contribute to this.”

In addition to the two incumbents, Brannon is attempting to become mayor for the first time in Bermuda Run after being elected to a council seat as a newcomer in 2021 when he was the top vote-getter.

Rick Cross, who was elected to a four-year term in 2019 as mayor, announced a couple of months ago that he would not seek re-election.

In the council races, three candidates in Clemmons have placed their names on the ballot for three available spots. Incumbents Mike Combest and Bradley Taylor, who was elected to the council for the first time two years ago, have filed along with Randy Wooden, a newcomer who is currently on the village’s planning board.

Chris Wrights, an incumbent who has served two consecutive four-year terms on the council since 2015 and was the overwhelming No. 1 choice in a crowded race in 2019, decided not to run again this year. Incumbents Michelle Barson and Mary Cameron have two years remaining on their terms.

While the mayor only serves a two-year term in Clemmons, the top two vote-getters for council in each election claim four-year terms, while the No. 3 finisher gets two years in the staggered system.

In Lewisville, which only has two-year terms, seven candidates are competing for six seats on the council. The list includes incumbents Melissa Hunt, Ken Sadler and Jane Welch, along with new names in Ven Challa, Ivan Huffman, William (Monte) Long and Julia Puckett. Incumbents Jeanne Marie Foster, Fred Franklin and David Smitherman did not file for re-election.

In Bermuda Run, five names — Dave Gilpin, Rod Guthrie, Rae Nelson, Jeff Tedder and Marty Wilson — are on the ballot in November, competing for two available spots on the council. Incumbents Heather Coleman and Curtis Capps did not file for re-election.

As a current council member, if Brannon is elected as the new mayor, his seat would become vacant, and it would be the role of the council to appoint someone to fill his vacant position. That is what happened four years ago after Cross was elected mayor. Incumbents Mike Ernst and Melinda Szeliga have two years remaining on their terms.