Voters in the Nov. 5 general election will decide on a new Central Point mayor for the first time in 22 years.

Taneea Browning, a seated council member and co-founder of CraterWorks MakerSpace, will face off against Zachary Sutton, a St. Mary’s graduate and local screenwriter.

Mayor Hank Williams, elected in 2002, decided to end his more than two-decade tenure.

Browning, 46, was elected to the council in 2015. She said she put her name in the hat to bring continuity to the well-run city.

“I feel that the city is doing all the things for its community that it should be doing. Hank has done a great job in his 22 years creating a cohesive council so that, even if we don’t agree on all the things that come before us, we’re very civil in our discussion and respectful in giving our opinions,” Browning said.

“I want to continue that, especially in the political climate we have today. I really believe in modeling that you can have differences of opinions but not differences of rules about how we treat each other.”

Browning, an Eagle Point High School graduate, is a co-founder of CraterWorks MakerSpace and is executive director for the city’s Direct Involvement Recreation Teaching (“DIRT”) park.

She previously served on the city budget committee, the Rogue Valley Council of Governments board and as a Fire District 3 liaison, in for a slew of other entities. On a state level, she has served on the Governor’s Regional Solutions team, as the 2023 and 2024 chair of the Western Municipal Association and on the League of Oregon Cities board.

If elected, Browning said she hoped to encourage local youths to become involved in city government, rely on long-tenured city staff who “do a great job” and prioritize safety and a small-town feel for Central Point. She hopes to connect the city with regional resources for city projects, she said, as was done with a planned facility at The Expo that is under construction and will combine a regional pandemic response center with a community center for Central Point residents.

“I hear from people so often, and the biggest compliment I ever got was someone from one of my state boards. They told me they felt like they were getting a hug when they came to Central Point,” Browning said. “Central Point is small town America. It’s like Mayberry … and I want to be the mayor of Mayberry.”

Sutton, 27, is a newcomer to local government. He said he decided to run for office to “make Central Point a better place for people to live in.”

If elected, Sutton said he would support increased trash and recycling bins downtown, start a volunteer trash cleanup crew and improve resources for veterans and homeless community members.

Sutton said he would also add sidewalks in areas without them, increase wheelchair accessibility in the city and start a “voucher card program where veterans receive a card that they can swipe at all gas stations, convenience stores, and grocery stores to receive a 20% discount on gas and groceries (including medical supplies).”

“This is my first time running for office, and despite my lack of experience, I strongly believe that I have more positive changes to offer than my experienced opponent. … I believe I am a natural-born leader who can run a city while I learn,” he said.

“I just see a lot of problems in politics and things that aren’t being solved.”

Sutton pointed to his experience working on political campaigns — including past Obama campaigns, Bernie Sanders’ campaign and, regionally, for state Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland.

Sutton previously worked as a file clerk for his family’s law firm, Matthew Sutton Attorney at Law. He graduated from St. Mary’s in 2016 and attended Cal State University Northridge and Southern Oregon University. Sutton did not complete his degree but has taken time off as screenwriter and director at Films Against Empires LLC, to produce a movie dubbed, “Death 2 the Empire: Second Death.”

Sutton described the project as “a fictional political movie project about what’s wrong with the political system in the United States of America and how to change it.”

City council seats

In addition to the mayor’s seat, the city’s Ward 4 council seat is open and uncontested. Council member Brian Whitaker will run to fill Browning’s seat, which she is vacating to run for mayor. Whitaker attended high school and college between Delaware and Colorado and listed his current employment as home care.

For two “at large” council seats, current council members Robert “Rob” Hernandez, a retired partner of S&B James Constructions, and Michael Parsons, a Central Point Police Department volunteer and Meadows Community board member who retired from 24 years at Quality Transport, are both seeking reelection and are running uncontested.

For more information on the mayoral candidates and their campaigns, zacharymsutton.com and taneeaformayor.org.

Editor’s Note The Voters Pamphlet for the Nov. 5 general election was scheduled to begin being mailed to registered voters in Jackson County on Wednesday, Oct. 9. To learn more about local candidates and measures, consult your printed pamphlet or find it online at the Jackson County Elections Office website. {related_content_uuid}fd95d6e2-46d9-4950-b13c-34e90bc43130{/related_content_uuid}

The Voters Pamphlet for the Nov. 5 general election was scheduled to begin being mailed to registered voters in Jackson County on Wednesday, Oct. 9. To learn more about local candidates and measures, consult your printed pamphlet or find it online at the Jackson County Elections Office website.