School board District 7: Cathy Williams, Shelia Williams appear headed for a runoff

With all seven precincts reporting, including advance in-person votes but not absentee votes, former Muscogee County School Board chairwoman Cathy Williams and political newcomer Shelia Williams appear headed for a runoff in nine weeks for the District 7 seat.

In unofficial results Cathy Williams has 504 votes (45.61 percent) and to Shelia Williams has 372 votes (33.67 percent). Former board member Norene Marvets trails in the three-person race with 229 votes. The runoff will be July 26.

No incumbent was in the race because Shannon Smallman, a real estate broker, decided not to seek a second four-year term. She instead has been managing Cathy Williams’ campaign.

Cathy Williams said she expected the three-way race would be decided in a runoff but it was a “mild surprise” that she will face off against Shelia Williams and not Marvets.

“Norene Marvets has maintained the high road,” Cathy Williams said. “She was a worthy opponent.”

Cathy Williams said, “I heard a lot of people today talk about how they did not appreciate the negativeness of the other side, the media attacks, the direct mailer attacks” from the Shelia Williams campaign.

Shelia Williams and Marvets weren’t reached for comment Tuesday night.

Cathy Williams, 58, is president and CEO of NeighborWorks Columbus, which promotes and provides access to fit and affordable housing. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Troy University and graduated from Spencer High School. Her husband, Chuck Williams, is a senior reporter at the Ledger-Enquirer.

She served for eight years as the lone at-large representative on the nine-member school board but didn’t seek re-election in 2014. She also chaired the board for two years.

Shelia Williams, 52, is executive director of B&O Services, a group home for the intellectually disabled, whose CEO is District 1 candidate Joann Thomas-Brown. She has been a team leader and support coordinator for Columbus Community Services, an online adjunct criminal justice instructor for Troy University at Fort Benning and a lead teacher for Easter Seals of West Georgia.

She earned a master’s degree in education from Troy University, a bachelor’s degree in political science from Alcorn State University and graduated from Velma Jackson High School in Camden, Miss.

Marvets was the board’s District 7 representative for one term, 2008-12, when Smallman defeated her.

Marvets, 57, is co-owner of John Paul’s Jewelers with her husband. She garduated from Hardaway High School, then from Southeastern Academy. She is the only candidate in this race with a child or grandchild currently in the school system, and she has both.

This story was originally published May 24, 2016 at 9:38 PM with the headline "School board District 7: Cathy Williams, Shelia Williams appear headed for a runoff."