Incumbent Mayor Derrick Freeman will have four opponents for Port Arthur’s May 4th mayoral election.

What is all but guaranteed with five candidates running in an election, where the voter turnout for local only elections is always low, is a runoff. Unless one candidate can garner more than 50 percent of the votes, there will be one.

I like to reference an election such as this with more candidates than are really needed similar as to the Republican presidential candidates’ race in 2016, in which 17 different candidates filed papers to become the lone candidate standing at the end of the day. Donald Trump ended up being that guy.

Interestingly enough, the Democrats seem to have not learned the lessons of the Republicans and currently have nine candidates for the 2020 Democratic candidate race. And they are not done yet.

But enough about presidential politics; this is Port Arthur. And we have our own barrage of candidates lining up to carry our great city on to greater things, or relapse it back another 20 years, depending on who wins.

I will share my endorsement in a later column, as I believe we should all give each candidate the time of day to inform us on how they plan to make things better for all Port Arthur citizens. If we think we know them or not.

But along with Freeman, running to bump him from his seat are:

Former 20+ year city councilman Willie “Bae” Lewis. Lewis has a long and interesting history with the city of Port Arthur.

Former Justice of the Piece Thurman Bartie.

Chuck Vincent, from Port Acres, who has worked tirelessly to keep residents informed about their failing district.

Environmental specialist and minister Lowra Harrison.

All have been invited to sit with Port Arthur News editor Ken Stickney and discuss their views and goals of their candidacy on Port Arthur News Facebook Live – Community Discussion.

So far, Bartie and Vincent visited with our audience and shared their thoughts about Port Arthur and what it needs moving forward. Freeman will be on the last Thursday in the series; Lewis stated he will only agree to be on if he can be last. Sorry Willie, but the incumbent mayor gets that opportunity. But if you want to be on, give us a call.

As for Harrison, she has yet to return our calls. But we do hope to hear from her soon.

If readers miss any of the interviews, they can go to The Port Arthur News Facebook page or panews.com and see the recorded video in its entirety.

Voters should ensure they understand for whom they are voting when they go to the polls. Each should look at the candidate’s history, find out what they want to do if elected into office, find out what they can actually do if elected into office, and understand that they hold only one vote out of seven on the City Council. Will their one vote get you what you want if he or she is elected?

Ultimately I would like to only see two candidates running. This way, citizens wouldn’t have to bear the cost of a runoff, which is most likely a given.

Nonetheless it is definitely going to give us stuff to talk about. The Race is On!

See you next week.

Rich Macke is publisher of The Port Arthur News.