CUMMING — It appears increasingly likely the city of Cumming will have a special election June 16 after two more residents announced their intentions to seek the unexpired term of a councilman who stepped down last month.

Chuck Welch, a senior vice president with Community Business Bank, and former Forsyth County Commissioner Linda Ledbetter say they will seek the Post 1 seat that Rupert Sexton held for 44 years.

Their announcements bring the field of declared candidates to three. Julie Tressler, a real estate agent and small business owner, announced her candidacy May 1.

That was the same day the council appointed Doug Sorrells, former longtime clerk of courts in Forsyth County, to fill the vacancy through the election.

Sorrells, who said he has no interest in running for the office, is the first new face on the council since the early 1990s.

Sexton, who had held the post since 1971, announced on April 21 that he would be stepping down to enjoy retirement. His last day with the city was April 30. About 18 months remain in his term.

Contested elections in Cumming, the county’s lone municipality, are rare. There hasn’t been one in 12 years, when Mayor H. Ford Gravitt faced an opponent in 2003. The councilmen, like Sexton in 2013, have typically run unopposed for re-election.

A lifelong city resident, Welch said he wants to ensure Cumming continues heading in a positive direction.

“I think the main thing is maintaining the financial stewardship that the current administration has shown, but at the same time just make sure that we evolve and make sure that we’re delivering the kind of city that folks want in these changing times and in this fast growing area of the country,” he said.

If elected, Welch would be a second generation councilman. His father Charles Welch, namesake of a prestigious award given annually by the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce, served on the council and later the Forsyth County commission.

“Most of my childhood, he was a councilman,” Welch said. “Then he went on to become a commissioner from 1986 to 1994.

“Obviously, my brother and I saw that we needed to serve our community and make sure that we’re doing our part to give back and make sure our community is great. He was a great example of that.”

Welch, who has been involved with the chamber, Rotary Club of Forsyth County and the local United Way, said he has seen the city change drastically during his lifetime. He believes it has the potential to be the best city in north Georgia and metro Atlanta.

“I got to witness Cumming going from being just a small town to being the county seat of the sixth fast growing county in the nation,” he said. “I think that it’s critical that the governing body of the city is really aware of kind of which direction we need to go in and maintain those financial standards that we’ve had for so long.”

Ledbetter, who represented District 5 on the county commission before choosing not to seek re-election to a second four-year term in 2008, also likes the city’s current situation.

“I basically want to be in there to protect what we’ve got, to make sure that we don’t lose any of the good things that we’ve got,” she said. “… I’d say [my reason for running is] more to serve and protect.

“I’d do anything I can to help people, but I really want the position because of the protecting aspect.”

Ledbetter is a retired educator who taught American government at what is now Forsyth Central High School. She has been waiting years for the council opportunity.

“I’ve lived here since 1969, and I’ve just always wanted to be on the city council,” she said. “I ran for commission and was lucky enough to be a commissioner, so that was wonderful … I always thought that if a vacancy came available, that I’d want to be on the city council.”

The first entrant in the race, Tressler, is a 15-year resident of the city who ran to succeed Ledbetter in the District 5 commission post in 2008. She fell by 30 votes to Jim Boff in the Republican primary runoff election.

Tressler has since remained active in local politics, including serving as president of the Republican Women of Forsyth County.

Potential candidates for city council must be registered to vote, at least 21 years old and have lived in the Cumming city limits for at least one year. The fee for qualifying, which is set for May 12-14, is $180.

The council will have three other seats up for election Nov. 3. Qualifying for Posts 3, 4 and 5 is set for Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 and 2, for the same fee.