It’s more than nine months until voters decide who they want as the new mayor of Port Arthur when current Mayor Deloris “Bobbie” Prince steps down from the post because term limits prevent her from running again. Already two candidates have announced their intention to seek the office and rumors swirl about several others considering joining the race. We hope the early announcements are an indication there will be a lot of interest in the race, not only by candidates but also by voters.
Turnout in recent elections has been around the 10 percent mark, a poor showing when selecting the men and women who will lead the city into the future. The early announcements by Derrick Freeman, who represents Position 7 on the City Council, and Harold Doucet, a former City Council member for District 4, and the long run-up to the 2016 mayoral election should give ample time for candidates to introduce themselves to the citizens and for the voters to get to know the candidates, not only in the mayoral race, but in other city and school races as well.
Freeman and Doucet have very different ideas about where they would lead the city and different styles in the way they would govern. If and when others join the race, voters will have even greater choices in who they want at the helm of the city. Choice is what elections are all about and if the early announcements are any indication, voters will have ample choices. Then it will be up to the voters to go the polls and make their choices known.