When candidate qualifying week for the Nov. 4 municipal elections ended Friday, Statesboro had both the mayoral race that had appeared at the beginning of the week and a partial rematch for the District 1 City Council seat headed for the ballot.
Meanwhile, Brooklet and Portal may be able to cancel their city elections as such, since they have only one candidate for each council seat scheduled for election this year. But each of those towns will have one new council member in 2026, since in both Brooklet and Portal one incumbent is not seeking re-election and another resident qualified instead.
Statesboro’s incumbent mayor, Jonathan McCollar, had signed up and paid the $560 Statesboro mayoral candidate fee – 3% of the salary – Monday morning, the first of Statesboro’s five days of candidate qualifying. As previously reported, Raymond L. Harris Sr., a U.S. Army veteran with civilian experience in information technology, qualified as a candidate for mayor that afternoon.
McCollar was first elected in 2017, outpolling previous Mayor Jan Moore in a runoff. After facing a challenger in 2021 but winning re-election by a large margin, McCollar is now in his eighth year in office and seeking a third term.
“Our progress in Statesboro has been made possible because we are a community working together,” McCollar said in a press release this week. “When people put people over politics, we can create jobs, reduce poverty, strengthen safety, and build a city where every resident has the opportunity to live a high-quality life.
“The story of Statesboro is a story of progress—and we’re just getting started,” he said.
A native of Statesboro who attained a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s in public administration from Georgia Southern University, McCollar currently works as a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker-Conner Realty. Earlier in his time as mayor he was employed by Georgia Southern at its Liberty Campus in Hinesville.
Harris, at least a 16-year resident of Statesboro but with longer connections to the area through his wife’s family, told the Statesboro Herald that the city government’s tax increases and spending habits became his main motivation to run.
“As mayor, I will work to find solutions to stop wasteful spending at City Hall and put an end to unnecessary tax increases,” he stated in his campaign announcement. “Our families work hard for every dollar, and the government should respect that by living within its means—just like the people it serves.
“I will guide our city forward while fostering transparency,” he continued. “I pledge to work hand-in-hand with Bulloch County leadership to ensure that every decision reflects the will and best interests of our citizens. Together, we will build a Statesboro that works for everyone.”
District 1 rematch
Statesboro’s other contest will be decided only by voters in Council District 1, where it is a partial rematch of a contest that occurred just last year. After 12-year District 1 Councilmember Phil Boyum resigned in July 2024, a special election was called and three candidates qualified then: John Grotheer, Ken Jackson and Tangie Reese Johnson.
When that election was held last November, Johnson received 50.85% of the votes cast, and thus won the remainder of Boyum’s unexpired term, through 2025, without a runoff. Jackson came in second, and Grotheer, third.
Johnson qualified on Tuesday of this week to seek election to the four-year term that begins Jan. 1, 2025.
“It has been a true honor to serve this incredible community, and I’m energized by the opportunity to continue working on the issues that matter most to all of us,” she wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday. “My goal remains clear: to keep building a city where everyone can thrive—a place we’re proud to call home, to raise our families, grow our businesses, and enjoy life together.
“This next chapter is about momentum—building on the progress we’ve made and staying focused on real results ….,” Johnson continued. “Let’s keep moving Statesboro forward, together.”
Then Grotheer qualified Friday to again run for the council seat in District 1, where he is a resident. So this time the race is only between Johnson and Grotheer.
“I am running for Statesboro City Council District 1 and believe in an open, transparent government, one that is interested in listening, being responsive, and genuinely committed to serving all the citizens of the city of Statesboro,” Grotheer said in a campaign release. I have chosen Statesboro as my forever home and would like for it to remain a safe community and one that offers an outstanding quality of life.”
Among other things, he stated that he is “determined to seek alternatives to raising property taxes especially at a time when seniors and others are struggling.”
Statesboro’s other council seat scheduled for election this year was the District 4 seat, held by John Riggs. Now in the final year of his fourth four-year term, Riggs has in effect already a shoo-in for a fifth term, since nobody signed up to challenge him.
‘New’ in Brooklet
Meanwhile, Brooklet had three of its City Council seats up for election this cycle, and two of the incumbents will be returning unopposed – Rebecca Kelly in Post 3 and Sheila Wentz in Post 5.
However, there will be one new Brooklet council member, since after one term as the member in Post 4, James Harrison decided not to seek another term.
So instead, Phillip Oliver, a 35-year resident of Brooklet who retired in 2020 after 30 years as a social studies teacher and multi-sport coach at Southeast Bulloch High School, qualified Thursday for Post 4. Brooklet’s qualifying period ended at 4:30 p.m. Thursday with no one else signed up, so Oliver appears set to replace Harrison on the council in January.
“Several folks reached out to me,” Oliver said Friday. “I was very humbled by that and appreciate their support.”
Portal, likewise
Similarly, Portal has two of three incumbent council members heading for new four-year terms – Hope Bolton Woods in Post 3 and Roger Davis in Post 4 – after they and nobody else qualified for those seats.
But after Sissy Carter, who has served more than a decade on the council, decided not seek another term, new candidate Patricia Goodman alone qualified for Portal Council Post 1. So Goodman, a vehicle operator for the High Hope Center, stands to join the council in January after Carter’s term ends.
The town of Register, with its mayor and two council members up for election, reportedly had only the incumbents qualify. So, Statesboro may be the only Bulloch County city with an actual municipal election this fall. But the Herald will seek confirmation of this next week.
FLOST & ESPLOST
Also, after recent decisions by the Bulloch County commissioners, the city governments and the Board of Education, two sales tax referendums will appear on the Nov. 4 ballot countywide. The proposed new Floating Local Option Sales Tax, or FLOST, is directed to an eventual rollback of property tax, while a five-year extension of the Educational Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, or ESPLOST, would fund construction of a new Southeast Bulloch High School and other school system projects.
County and city elections are ordinarily separate, occurring in alternating years. But the FLOST and EPLOST referendums will appear in a special county election during a city election year.
Because the county Board of Elections and Registration staff handles elections for the city of Statesboro, the mayor’s race can appear on ballots for registered voters who live in the Statesboro city limits along with the FLOST and ESPLOST questions, and likewise the Statesboro District 1 council race on the same ballot but just for that district’s resident voters, said county Election Supervisor Shontay Jones.