Unless a candidate steps forward on the final day of qualifying, voters in local races in Sumter County, Wildwood and Lady Lake will have no choices to make on election day.
Candidate qualifying ends at noon Friday.
Incumbent Sumter County Commissioners Garry Breeden and Doug Gilpin have drawn no opposition. Commissioners draw an annual salary of $50,983.
Sumter County School Board candidate David Williams has no opposition after longtime incumbent Linda Winchester abruptly withdrew her candidacy for re-election for District 3 on the school board. Incumbent Sumter County School Board member Kathie Joiner has no opposition in District 5. The Sumter County School Board positions pay $31,848 per year.
In Wildwood, Mayor Ed Wolf and Commissioners Pamala Kay Bivins and Don Clark have filed to run for re-election. No one has filed to run against them. The Wildwood mayor is paid $7,476.24. The Wildwood commissioners are paid $6,074.40.
In Lady Lake, Commissioners Paul Hannan and Tony Holden have filed for re-election. They have drawn no opponents. Lady Lake commissioners earn $7,500.
So is it a case of the electorate being happy or apathetic.
“It’s frustrating when you see uncontested races,” said Joanne Coen, president of the League of Women Voters of The Villages/Tri-County Area. “The races are already decided before the voters even go to the polls.”
Having no local races could also hurt voter participation, she added.
“Unless you are devoted ‘party animal,’ you won’t show up to vote,” Coen said.
Meanwhile, voters will be on the hook for the cost of staging the Aug. 26 primary election. Those costs include everything from printing ballots to paying poll workers.