Dothan commissioners adopt canvass, declare winners and set Sept. 16 runoffs

The Board of Commissioners of the City of Dothan met in an adjourned session on Aug. 12, 2025, and approved Resolution No. 2025-190, formally canvassing the returns of the City of Dothan municipal election held Aug. 5, 2025, and declaring winners for several city and school-board offices. The resolution also identified three contests that will proceed to a runoff election on Sept. 16, 2025.

The canvass matters because state and local law require the governing body to review and adopt certified returns before winners assume office; the resolution sets the four-year terms to begin the first Monday in October 2025 and fixes the Sept. 16 runoff date where no candidate received a majority.

After the city clerk read the resolution into the record, the commission moved to approve. The board voted by voice; the presiding official called for ayes and the motion carried. The resolution declared Mark Saliba elected mayor and named the following officials as duly elected to four-year terms beginning the first Monday in October 2025: Vivian K. Daniels, associate commissioner District 1; Dave Stock, associate commissioner District 4; Julie Mullins Turner, board of education chair; Brenda C. Guilford, board of education member District 1; Franklin Jones, board of education member District 2; and Talisha Walton, board of education member District 3.

The resolution also named candidates eligible for a second or runoff election to be held Sept. 16, 2025, in the following contests: associate commissioner District 2 (Philippe Curtsey and Derek Tiller), associate commissioner District 3 (Bradley Bedwell and David Haight), and board of education member District 5 (J.T. Carroll and Ashley Whitfield Davis).

Commissioners used the public moment after the vote to thank candidates for running and to commend the city clerk's office for administering the election. Multiple commissioners urged voters to participate in the Sept. 16 runoff and thanked staff for what one commissioner called "a job well done" in providing credibility to the voting process. The record shows Commissioner Dorsey was absent from the meeting.

No formal amendments to the resolution were offered during the session; the commission made the motion to adopt, a second was recorded, and the body took a voice vote in favor. The meeting concluded with a motion and second to adjourn.

The full vote totals were read into the record as part of the resolution. Some numeric items in the transcript provided for this meeting contain formatting or transcription errors; the resolution text in the record declares the winners and the contests that will proceed to runoff rather than changing officeholders prior to the prescribed start of terms.

Looking ahead, the commission provided no additional directions to staff as part of this action beyond the formal adoption of the canvass; the resolution itself and the statutory timetable set the effective dates for winners and the runoff schedule.