With a little more than four months remaining until the 2019 Port Arthur mayoral race, we are starting to hear the rumblings of what, or who, we can expect to make a run. As always, I’m sure it will be interesting. But let’s take a look at the names being thrown around.

Current mayor of Port Arthur, Derrick Freeman, will surely be running to maintain his position and continue his focus on making his city a better place for all citizens. In his first term as mayor, Derrick has done a good job tempering the continual public in-fighting that plagued the council for years prior. He’s a good person to be the face of a community fighting to regain itself. It’s not every mayor that has felt the burden of a major catastrophe that devastated his city in their first term. And while others get their lives back on track and begin living in their own homes again, to this date, the Freeman family is still not back in their home. Community first, he will say.

Former Councilmember Willie “Bae” Lewis has said he will be making a run for City Council in May. Why, we wonder? Lewis has been on the City Council for more than 20 years. Look around the city. Does it look like there has been progress during those 20 years? He is not a city-minded individual. As a councilmember, he has committed questionable actions over the years. Maybe we can get into detail about that during the race. He has yet to win a citywide race in recent years, so it may not be a big deal he is running, even if he seeks the mayor’s position. That is, unless he becomes a vote splitter, taking a minimal number of votes from other, more worthy candidates, and keeps the city of Port Arthur from electing the best candidate possible.

Another former councilmember who has taken a look at running for the coveted mayoral seat in May is Morris Albright. I like Morris. We have a mutual respect for each other. He has told me a number of times that he’s fine if I write about him in my column. He has also said he’s glad The Port Arthur News is taking a stand on items, especially elections. So here goes: Albright is a businessman, which I have stated is lacking on council right now. However, not only has he also not been able to win a citywide election in the past, losing in 2017 to Councilmember Charlotte Moses by 21 percent, but a mayor can’t have an off-again, on-again bad habit of calling people late at night when his spirits are up for the evening. Yes, I have been on the receiving end of a few of those calls.

Social media came alive last month when Thurman Bartie posted that he was hosting an event to test the waters and see if he might make a run in the upcoming mayoral race. I do not know Bartie personally. Many close friends of mine think very highly of him. But a 2002 incident, which saw him removed from his justice of the Peace position, will come up during the campaign. I maintain that the City Council needs more business-minded councilmembers to run the $60 million city budget. I don’t think Bartie has that.

Now, some of these people above may ultimately decide not to run as the deadline to file for the election comes closer. There may very well be others, or even a current city councilmember or two that throw his or her hat into the ring. We will have to wait and see.

We will dig deeper into the May election as potential candidates begin turning in their paperwork. But once we get to March, it’s a race that will surely be interesting to watch. And residents should watch closely. It is your community. You should vote for the absolute best candidate that you feel has a best opportunity to move Port Arthur forward.

Rich Macke is publisher of The Port Arthur News.