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On Aug. 25, the residents of District D in LaFayette will choose between incumbent councilmember Michael Ellis and Patricia Davis for their representative on the city council.

Ellis has served on the city council the last eight years. He is seeking reelection for his third term, so he can continue to serve the people of LaFayette, especially those in his district.

“I really enjoy working for the people and representing my district and the citizens of LaFayette,” Ellis said. “This is my hometown, and I plan on being here the rest of my life. This is just a passion. I want to continue to work on some of the things that we’ve been doing and see our city grow and become a better LaFayette.”

From his eight years of experience on the council, Ellis has learned the importance of teamwork from everyone involved in the decision making steps of the city.

“Every decision I’ve tried to make and vote on, I look to see if it is beneficial for the city of LaFayette,” Ellis said. “I put LaFayette first. There’s nothing personal. You can’t rush things, but you want to see progress, and we have made some progress.”

One of the ways that Ellis has tried to put the city of LaFayette first is being an advocate of increasing the sales tax from nine cents on the dollar up to 10 cents. The increase would help add revenue to the city and the entire county.  Ellis said that one-cent increase would bring in about $200,000 to $300,000 increase to the city’s budget, which could be used to improve the roads and pipes.

Ellis also wants to add a hotel or convention center to the city.

“We have so much traffic coming through here. We have so many people coming through here and a lot of people coming back home, and they have to go to Auburn, Opelika or Valley if there’s something going on,” Ellis said. “I think the need for hotel accommodations is much needed.”

Ellis has been working with the Chamber County Development Authority to help bring a hotel to the city, which was brought up during the council’s last meeting with the CCDA, but progress has slowed down because of COVID-19.

Ellis also wants to continue to try and grow the recreation department. Ellis is one of the coaches that participate in youth sports, and he would like to see more expansion in youth sports. He also wants more activities for senior citizens as well.

He also wants the city to hire a parks and recreation department director, who can help get the department going again.

“Recreation will improve the quality of life of everyone in the city,” Ellis said.

Davis is running because she believes that there is work needed to be done in the district.

She believes there are several areas in the district that need to be cleaned up, as there are remnants of old houses that were not properly cleaned up after the houses were torn down.

“I would like to represent District D and be the voice for the people of District D,” Davis said.

Davis said she would work to bring in new businesses to the LaFayette area and maintain the current amount of jobs in the city.

“LaFayette is in desperate need for jobs,” she said. “I tell people ‘I can’t make promises that I can’t keep’ but I will go in with a voice and try to get grants.”

Davis has lived in LaFayette for more than 60 years, which she believes would be a big help for her on the council.

“I could be a big help to the city of LaFayette by working, showing some responsibility. That’s what comes in the responsibility of a councilmember,” Davis said. “A councilmember can’t just be elected and be there. You have to get out there and communicate with the people and see what they need in their area. Then, you take it before the council and the mayor.”