The City of Woodstock will not be holding the Municipal General Election originally scheduled for Tuesday, November 2, 2021. Qualifying for Council Member Wards 1, 3, and 5 seats as well as the Office of Mayor was held on August 16th, 17th, and 18th.
Incumbents Warren Johnson (Ward 1), Colin Ake (Ward 3), and Brian Wolfe (Ward 5) all qualified for re-election with no opposition. Former Georgia House Representative Michael Caldwell qualified for Mayor and was also unopposed.
The period for write-in candidates expired at 5 pm on Wednesday, August 25th allowing City Clerk Rhonda Pezzello to officially cancel the election as each of the unopposed candidates are deemed to have voted for himself.
“As much as you may want to see candidates competing, I think it’s good for the City when candidates who hold the public’s trust are unopposed and therefore a divisive race can be avoided,” Mayor Henriques said about the cancellation of the election. “Plus, it saves the City the expense of a costly election which is upwards of $20,000.”
Woodstock Mayor Donnie Henriques did not seek to qualify for re-election. He has served as Mayor of the City of Woodstock since January of 2006. He served as the Council Member for Ward 6 from January 2000 to December of 2004.
About his decision not to seek re-election, Henriques said, “I’ve served in office in Woodstock for twenty years and the time has come to pass the torch to a younger generation with solid ideas that Woodstock can build upon.”
Johnson, Ake, Wolfe, and Caldwell will begin serving a four-year term in office beginning at 12:01 a.m. on January 1, 2022.
“I’m grateful to Mayor Henriques for his years of outstanding service, and I’m honored to have the support of our city,” Mayor-Elect Michael Caldwell stated. “Let’s get to work and keep Woodstock the very best city in America to live, work, and play!”
The Official Swearing In Ceremony will be held on Monday, January 10th, 2022 at 7 p.m. at The Chambers at City Center located at 8534 Main Street, Woodstock, Georgia.