RISON - One long-time justice of the peace on the Cleveland County Quorum Court and one member of the Woodlawn School Board decided not to seek re-election as the filing period for the 2026 primary and school elections came to a close at noon last Wednesday (Nov. 12).Donnie Herring, the long-time District 5 representative on the nine-member quorum court, did not file for re-election, but two candidates did file for the seat: Lori Rotton of the Pleasant Ridge community and Kelly Slater of the Randall community. Both filed to run in the Republican primary. Rotton, however, informed the Herald early Wednesday that she is having to withdraw from the race due to work obligations.Meanwhile, Shane Dixon, who is currently serving as the president of the Woodlawn School Board, did not file for re-election to the Position 1 seat on the five-member board. Marty Reed was the only candidate to file for the Position 1 seat. All the other incumbents on the Cleveland County and Woodlawn School Boards up for election in 2026 filed for another term: Helen Browning-Grice (Zone 2), Nick Bennett (Zone 4), Anthony “Tony” White (Zone 6) and William King (Zone 7) all filed to run again on the Cleveland County School Board; and Rodger Stewart filed to run for Position 2 on the Woodlawn School Board.All five seats on the Woodlawn School Board are elected at-large, but each position does have an assigned number to determine term lengths. Reed and Stewart are both uncontested candidates.While a contested race has developed for JP District 5, another JP position is no longer being contested.Ron Workman, who had served as mayor of Kingsland, filed to run against District 4 incumbent Pat “Jo” Keegan-Potter in the Republican primary. However, Workman informed the Herald on Monday that he is withdrawing from the race.“I, Ron Workman, Sr., respectfully withdraw my name as a candidate for Cleveland County Justice of the Peace District...
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