Three more people threw their hats in the ring as candidates for the Pine Bluff City Council last week -- two new names and one incumbent -- as the city's filing period for independent candidates for municipal offices closed Friday at noon.
Ward 2 Alderman Wayne Easterly, 60, filed Wednesday as an independent for his previous seat.
Independent candidate Lewis White, 64, filed Thursday for the Ward 4 position held by Alderman Steven Mays, 53.
Independent candidate Reginald Johnson filed Friday for the Ward 3 position held by Alderman Bill Brumett, 67.
Democrats Brumett, of Brumett Agency Inc. insurance, and Mays both filed for re-election earlier. Mays works at the Pine Bluff Arsenal.
The eight-person council has four alderman spots up for election this year. Independent candidates had until Friday to file to run against the four incumbents, some of whom faced primary opponents earlier this year.
The four-year alderman position pays $12,449 annually, and the council has two aldermen from each ward.
Each incumbent now faces an opponent.
At the beginning of the week, only Ward 1 Alderman Thelma Walker, a Democrat, faced an opponent.
Walker, 73, faces the Rev. Jesse Turner, 68, who filed to run in July. Walker is owner and operator of Pine Bluff Adult Day Care. Turner is an anti-crime advocate.
Easterly, who works at Ralph Robinson & Son Funeral Home, now faces Democrat Glen Brown Jr., the son of Ward 3 Alderman Glen Brown, whose spot is up for election in 2016.
The positions for mayor, city clerk and city attorney are not up for election until 2016.
Metro on 08/17/2014