The City of Lula has two city council seats up for grabs during Tuesday's election, the first being the District 4 seat, and the other being District 5.
Three people are running for the District 5 seat, and AccessWDUN recently spoke with two of the three candidates to hear more about their platforms.
Voting runs from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Lula City Hall.
Joseph Michael Headrick
AccessWDUN was unable to secure an interview with Headrick in the weeks leading up to the election following multiple attempts to contact him.
Debbie Parker-Presley
Parker-Presley said she was born and raised in Hall County and moved to Lula in 1972 after she got married. She works for Gainesville Neurology Group and has worked with the organization for 23 years as a practice administrator.
Parker-Presley said this is her first foray into local politics.
"I remember how Lula was, and I hate to see that atmosphere fade away," Parker-Presley said. "I think with my experience, my educational background, I have a lot that I can give back to Lula, and I would like that opportunity to do so."
Parker-Presley said she believed growth was the biggest issue for the city.
"I believe that there is such a thing as controlled growth, which would be best for Lula," Parker-Presley said. "I would want to talk to the people that have been born and raised here to see what they want Lula to be in five years."
"If elected I will stand for the people in Lula and I refuse to make any promises that I cannot keep just to get elected," Parker-Presley said.
Juliette Talley
Talley has lived in Lula since 2017 and said she has a history of dealing with cities during her previous work experience in accounting.
"I moved to Lula because I remember Lula being a little bitty small town that my family would come through before Ga. 365 was built," Talley said. "When I was adult and looking for a place to settle down after my first marriage, I kept going, 'I really wonder about that little town.'"
Talley described Lula as the "perfect place."
"We just need somebody who will listen to the people," Talley said. "We need somebody who is actually going to say, 'Your voice matters. Tell me what we need, how can we try to fix it?'" Talley said.
Talley said if elected, she would like to keep Lula's small town feel while making some improvements to the city.
"We need sidewalks to navigate through downtown and especially to bring us down to the Wellness Park and the baseball field," Talley said.
Talley also mentioned several roadways that she believed needed to be repaved.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2023/11/1213078/three-candidates-running-for-lula-city-council-district-5-seat