Find more elections coverage in our 2009 elections section.
Braselton Mayoral candidates
Bill Orr
Professional: Financial advisor
Government experience: None
Education: Graduated from Johnson High School; received a bachelor of business administration degree from the University of Georgia; received a master of business administration degree from Carnegie Mellon University
Ralph Richardson Jr.
Professional: Retired from the military
Government experience: Served six years on the town council
Education: Graduated from Jackson County High School
Braselton Town Council District 2
Bill Greene
Professional: Political consultant and adjunct college instructor
Government experience: Candidate for U.S. Congress in 2007; president of RightMarch.com, a national activist organization; president of Strategic Integrated Campaign Management Inc., a national political consulting firm
Education: Associate of arts degree in liberal arts from Brevard College; bachelor of arts degree in political science from UNC-Asheville; master of arts degree in political science from UNC-Greensboro; ABD in international relations from Florida International University; Ph.D. in theology from Miami Christian University
Peggy Slappey
Professional: Real estate broker
Government experience: None
BRASELTON — In the race for mayor, two Braselton residents have announced their candidacy: Bill Orr and Ralph Richardson Jr.
Current Mayor Pat Graham will not be running for re-election. Graham announced July 21 that in the 2010 election, she is seeking the District 47 state Senate seat currently held by Sen. Ralph Hudgens. Hudgens is running for Georgia Insurance Commissioner in 2010.
Orr is a financial advisor with Edward Jones Investments and a member of the Braselton Rotary Club. He and his family live in Braselton and attend Hamilton Mill United Methodist Church, where he serves as vice chairman of the church’s long-range planning committee.
Richardson currently holds the District 2 Town Council seat and has served on the council for six years. He is a small-business owner and served for 26 years as a senior noncommissioned officer in the Georgia Army National Guard.
Running for mayor leaves Richardson’s spot on the town council open for election, and Bill Greene and Peggy B. Slappey, both of Braselton, qualified to run for the seat.
Greene is a political consultant and teaches political science as an adjunct instructor at Gainesville State College. He ran for Congress during the 2007 special election to fill the unexpired term of the late U.S. Rep. Charlie Norwood Jr.
Slappey has been a Barrow County resident for nine years and works as a real estate broker with her firm, Peggy Slappey Properties, in Buford.
Dudley Ray is the only person running for the District 4 Town Council seat. He has served in that position since 1997 and has lived in Braselton for 11 years. Ray retired from U.S. Steel after 31 years in management and was a member of the Georgia National Guard for 32 years.
Early voting in Braselton began Oct. 12 and continues through Oct. 30.