The nonpartisan election will be conducted Tuesday, Nov. 3, and incumbent Councilman Randy Brewer is being challenged by political newcomer D. Warren Johnson.
Early voting begins on Tuesday and runs through Oct. 23, and advance voting is from Oct. 26 through 30. Hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m..
The polls for early voting are at the Cherokee County Elections and Registration Office at 400 E. Main St. in Canton. The polls for advance voting are at the elections office and at Woodstock Public Library at 7735 Main St.
Brewer, 44, who has served on the council since 2001, said he's running for re-election to a four-year term to "complete some of the projects that I started."
Those projects, he said, include converting downtown from a commuter route to a destination; getting dirt turned on the Rope Mill Road interchange at Interstate 575, the Towne Lake-Arnold Mill Road widening and the Arnold Mill bypass at Neese Road; completing the Greenprints Project; and addressing City Hall space needs.
"Through-long range planning and budgeting, conservative fiscal responsibility and creating an economic engine downtown, we can meet our infrastructure needs while keeping our taxes at historical lows," said Brewer, who was out of town on work-related matters and could not be photographed campaigning. He works as a quality audit manager for ADC, a multi-national telecommunications company.
Brewer, who has lived in Woodstock for 10 years, is a member of Northpoint Church, a partner with Canton's Watermarke Church. He and his wife, Sharon, have three children, Taylor, Kelley and Dylan.
Johnson, a newcomer to the political scene, said he is running out of concerns over spending by the city government.
He pointed to the recent purchase of the former Robert Harris Homes for the City Hall Annex and the Woodstock Community Church for a future City Hall as a cause of concern.
"That is what got me to the point beyond complaining and actually volunteering to do something," he said of the purchases.
The city in 2008 purchased the building on Highway 92 for $5.6 million dollars and moved its operations there. In June, it purchased Woodstock Community Church for $3.7 million.
Johnson, 36, said while he thinks the council has a good vision for the city, it has yet to take action on issues such as parking in downtown and maintaining a small-town atmosphere.
Specifically, Johnson said he is concerned about what the Towne Lake-Arnold Mill widening would do to the quaint atmosphere downtown.
He said he thinks the widening would create more commuter traffic, encroach on businesses and Woodstock City Park and eliminate the pedestrian-friendly atmosphere.
"I have no desire to cross five lanes on foot with small children," he said, adding he has ideas as to how to better address the traffic situation, but isn't comfortable sharing them until he has all the facts.
Brewer took issue with Johnson's criticisms of the project and city spending.
With the widening, Brewer said the project originally was designed to be a "massive" four-lane that would split the downtown in half.
Brewer said he insisted on narrowing the scope of the project two years ago and is taking the lead to further narrow it by making design changes "that would greatly reduce the right-of-way needed for the project."
"The goal is to ease traffic congestion, but not create a monstrosity that destroys the newly revitalized downtown," he said.
As far as spending, Brewer said the council has a history of evaluating every option to address City Hall space. Brewer said the state of the former building's structure ruled out expansion on the property.
He added the council purchased both City Hall Annex and the church for less than one-third of the proposed $24 million cost to build a new City Hall downtown.
"The acquisition of those properties also meets many other long-term needs that we have identified through the long rage planning and budgeting that I have consistently fought for," he said.
Johnson is an environmental consultant and has lived in Woodstock for 10 years. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 1996 with a bachelor of science degree in environmental health. He previously served on the North Towne Homeowners Association.
He is a member of Hillside United Methodist Church where he volunteers in the nursery. He and his wife, Andi, have two children, Alexander and Abby.
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