ROBERTSDALE, Alabama Voters in the five municipalities of north and central Baldwin County will head to the polls on Aug. 23 to decide mayor and city council leaders for the next four years.
Qualifying began July 5 and by the end of the first week, several residents had thrown their hats into the ring. Qualifying for municipal elections continues through July 19.

Bay Minette
Several races in North Baldwin County are already being contested, including the race for mayor between incumbent Bob Wills and former mayor Sonny Dobbins.

Just two of the five current council members in Bay Minette had qualified as of Friday, Danleigh Corbett, who will face at least two challengers, Harry Still III and Mark Daniel; and Chris Norman, who is so far unopposed.
J. Ed Pepperman and Mike Phillips have both qualified for District 2, now held by Kathy Dobbins; Matt Franklin will challenge for District 3, now held by John W. Biggs; William C. Taylor will run for the District 4 seat, now held by Dollie Mims.

Robertsdale
Charles Murphy will once again face opposition from Roger Booth in the race for mayor, while Brent Kendrick will be opposed by Tim Brown in the Place 4 race in Robertsdale.
Murphy will seek his seventh term as mayor after serving one term on the city council. Kendrick served on the city council from 1988 to 1996 before being elected again in 2000.
Mayor Pro Tem Joe Kitchens will seek his eighth term on the council. Incumbents Sue Cooper and Paul Hollingsworth have also qualified.
Ruthie Campbell is the only current council member in Robertsdale who had yet to qualify as of Friday. Campbell won her first term in office in 2012, beating Aubrey Grant Jr. in a run-off after his father, incumbent Aubrey Grant Sr., chose not to run for the seat.

Loxley

There are no challengers so far to council seats in Loxley with four of the six incumbents qualifying in their respective races.
Richard Lee Wilson, who was appointed to replace Wally Sabin, and Kasey Childress, who filled the seat vacated by the late Michael Allegri Sr., will both seek election for their first full term in office, along with long-time council members, Katherine Breeden and Mayor Pro Tem Richard Teal.
Mayor Billy Middleton and council member Jeffery T. Knight had yet to qualify by Friday.

Silverhill

Two incumbents and one challenger turned in their paperwork during the first week of qualifying in Silverhill.
Wayne Gruenloh has qualified for his first re-election bid after being appointed to the Place 5 seat prior to the 2012 election. Mayor Pro Tem Jared Lyles has also qualified in Place 3, seeking his third full term in office.
Alan Norden will also challenge election for Place 2. Current council member Michael Allegri Jr. had yet to qualify on Friday, along with Mayor Tim Wilson and council members Bert Jones, Place 1, and Shirley Stephens, Place 4.

Summerdale
As of Friday no candidates had qualified for the Aug. 23 election in Summerdale.
Mayor David Wilson was elected unopposed in 2012 for his sixth term in office, as were Norma Wilson Giles, who is finishing her fourth term in Place 2; Travis Townsend, who is serving his third term in Place 3; and Mayor Pro Tem Myles Bishop, who was appointed in 2007, then elected in 2008 and 2012, for the Place 1 seat.
Mary Carolyn McDaniel, Place 3, and Cheryl Wallace Stewart, Place 5, were elected to their first terms in 2012, both winning over incumbents.