The City of Watkinsville will have one new council member next year.  Mike Huff was the lone candidate to qualify for Post 4 last week.

Huff, office manager for Northeast Georgia Gutter and Garage, will replace outgoing councilwoman Samantha Purcell, who told The Oconee Enterprise she plans to pursue a Specialist degree in leadership education.

Also last week, current councilmen Mike Link (Post 5 - mayor pro tempore) and Toby Smith (Post 3) qualified for re-election and are unopposed.

Link has served for more than two decades. Smith first joined the council in January 2010.  He was the only candidate to qualify for Joe Walter's vacant seat when Walter replaced Jim Luken as mayor, according to an article in the Athens Banner-Herald.

Since all three races are uncontested, no election will be held this year, city clerk Julie Sanders explained.

Councilmen Brian Brodrick (Post 1) and Henry Norman (Post 2) ran unopposed for re-election in 2011, the same year Charles Ivie was elected mayor to replace Joe Walter, who retired.

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