Meet the Candidates for Ward 5, Post 1

Would-be incumbent Councilman Roy E. Mims, who represents Ward 5, Post 1, announced in February that he would run for mayor of Douglasville but eventually decided neither to run for mayor nor his current city council seat, leaving the race open to two new candidates.

Candidates Carl Pope and Gary Warner both have business backgrounds.

"As a member of the , I plan to provide public service with integrity, humility, and my 35 years of business experience," Pope said. "I will strive to foster a better working relationship with the city and the county through my personal friendships with the county commissioners. I want to support our local businesses and to bring opportunities to the Douglasville workforce."

Pope, who has lived in the same Douglasville house for 18 years, is a senior executive with more than 35 years of progressive management experience in all aspects of the construction industry. He has managed multi-million dollar renovation and new construction projects.

Pope's bio points out that he is uniquely effective in building organizations through open channels of communication and cooperative relationships between executive management and members of the workforce. His past responsibilities have included coordinating training, safety issues, scheduling of subcontractors, labor relations, and ensuring that projects were completed on time and within budget forecast. He's has also directly supervised 565 employees. 

Warner is a native of Florida. He's been an entrepreneur since 1976 and a Douglasville resident since 2000. He and his wife Kathye, own Douglasville-based Warner Enterprises and co-founded Legacy World Missions. He also serves on the board of directors for Bikers for Christ International and is a Douglas County volunteer court-appointed special advocate.

"I'm running because my neighbors and community leaders have come to me and said Douglasville needs a new vision," he said in a Patch interview when he announced his candidacy in May. "The city is only being held back by the narrow vision of the mayor and city council."

"I'm in operation management and I see so many deficiencies in the city that need to be addressed. Somehow they all get swept under the rug."

Warner continued, "We need to address a bit of the infrastructure before we start building new buildings. How can we grow the downtown area if you have to park and walk for five blocks. When they built the new intersection at Timber Ridge Drive and Prestley Mill, why didn't they build sidewalks? I see students walking in knee-high grass and snow, carrying their books, just to get to school. They're just trying to better themselves; why don't they have sidewalks?"

Pope and his wife have three children and three grandchildren.

Warner and his wife have two daughters; Angela Warner, who lives in Atlanta and Kate Rooks, who lives in Chicago.

The general election will be held on Nov. 8 and voter registration ends on Oct. 11. Early voting will be held from on Oct. 18 to Oct. 28. Advanced voting will be held from Oct. 31 to Nov. 4 at the Douglas County Courthouse.

To see get more information about the overall Douglasville election picture, read here.