Three new candidates and one incumbent have qualified for Brookhaven’s upcoming City Council elections.
Qualifying began on Aug. 18 and ended on Aug. 20 at 4:30 p.m. To qualify, candidates had to file a Notice of Candidacy with the Brookhaven city clerk within that time, meet the city’s charter and code qualifications, and pay a fee of $360, according to the city’s website.
Incumbent John Park will run again for District 2. Katie Dunagan, who announced a bid for council in July, qualified to run against Park for the seat. Dunagan works as a contract interior designer and has lived in Ashford Park since 2009, according to her campaign website.
The two candidates who qualified to run for the District 4 seat also announced their candidacies earlier this year. The seat is currently held by Councilmember Joe Gebbia, who announced in January that he would not seek re-election.
John Funny – the former chairman of Brookhaven’s Social Justice, Race, and Equity Commission – and Brookhaven resident Dale Boone both qualified to run for the seat. This is the first time Funny will run for elected office. Boone previously ran for mayor in 2015 and for the District 4 seat against Gebbia in 2017.
According to the city’s website, community leader Marco Palma did not qualify for the election. Palma previously announced he would run for the District 4 seat in a July 21 press release. Palma did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication.
Brookhaven’s elections will take place on Nov. 2.