CULLMAN – There are two run-off elections set to take place on Tuesday, Oct. 4, one in the city of Cullman and one in Garden City.
In Cullman, Chris Branham and Susan Martin Hauk will face off for Cullman City Board of Education, Place 2. In Garden City, Teresa Goodwin and Michael Black will square off for Garden City Town Council, Place 3.
In the Aug. 23 municipal election, Branham brought in 1,152 votes to Hauk’s 1,089. In third place was Kevin Binkowski with 615.
Small business owner Branham told the Tribune in August he has thought about running for school board since last winter when he and his wife began looking into the possibility.
“I didn’t really have anybody to ask. It’s just something that me and my wife have been praying about since November. When I found out, for sure, that Ms. Howell wasn’t running, I decided to jump in. I kept really quiet about it and I think I surprised a lot of people when I threw my name out there because I’m not really a traditional politician. I have two small kids in the school system going into the sixth grade and 10th grade and I know how important our school system is to our community and so that’s what motivated me to get into it. I’m just a local business guy who just loves his community and our students.”
Branham, a 1994 Cullman High School graduate, started his own business in 2005 and feels his business sense is his key asset to bring to the school board table.
Hauk says she was first approached with the idea to run for school board almost a year ago by a standing member of the board. “I asked a couple of questions, thought about it briefly, and then dismissed the idea. Over the next several months I had several Cullman citizens ask me to consider running for the school board,” she told one of our reporters last month.
Hauk received her undergraduate in social work from the University of Alabama and completed graduate school at the University of South Alabama where she earned a Master of Science in counseling degree. She is a licensed social worker and professional counselor and has worked in private practice, the public sector and for nonprofits in Cullman where she served as director for the Child Advocacy Center of Cullman (CAC) for over 11 years.
“I became the founding director of the Child Advocacy Center of Cullman, a nonprofit agency, and during my 11-plus year tenure grew the annual budget from less than $100,000 to almost $500,000. This happened via grant writing, fundraising and careful stewardship of available resources.
“The Cullman City School system has enjoyed great success through its innovative and progressive-thinking board members, superintendent and administrators. I would be proud to be a part of implementing the current strategic plan. In particular, we face problems of space and housing for our growing student population that must be addressed sooner rather than later. This will require creativity and some outside-the-box thinking, along with some difficult and critical decision making. I would like to see the board address the availability of appropriate course offerings for all student abilities and interests, not just those who are college-bound. We must prepare all of our students for success in a competitive workforce. We need to address the funding issues facing all of our sports programs and booster clubs, while also ensuring compliance with federal laws requiring equitable treatment for teams of both genders.”
In Garden City, Teresa Goodwin and Michael Black will square off for Garden City Town Council, Place 3. Both Goodwin and Black garnered 44 votes in the Aug. 23 election.
Voting locations for the run-off elections will be same as they were for the Aug. 23 elections. If you do not know where your polling location is located, visit https://myinfo.alabamavotes.gov/VoterView/PollingPlaceSearch.do. Polls will be open from 7 a.m.-7 p.m.
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