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Ocala voters pick mayor, 4 of 5 council members on Tuesday

Ocala City Hall. Photo: City of Ocala via Facebook
Ocala City Hall. Photo: City of Ocala via Facebook

All but one of the elected positions in Ocala city government are on a city-wide ballot Tuesday.

There's the mayor's race, with 10-year incumbent Kent Guinn facing civic and medical business leader Manal Fakhoury.

Guinn emphasizes his support for law enforcement. Fakhoury says she'll be a mayor for ALL of Ocala.

Four of the five seats on the City Council are also up for a vote, and all these are non-partisan races.

In District 1, incumbent Brent Malever faces Barry Mansfield.

Rusty Juergens and Ty Schlichter are challenging Jay Musleh in District 3. 

In the other two council seats, the current members are not running.

Greg Steen and former council member James Hilty are vying for District 5. Six candidates are in the special election for District 4.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. About 4,000 voters -- or 10 percent -- have already voted by mail.

Joe Byrnes came to Central Florida Public Media from the Ocala Star-Banner and The Gainesville Sun, where he worked as a reporter and editor for several years. Joe graduated from Loyola University in New Orleans and turned to journalism after teaching. He enjoys freshwater fishing and family gatherings.