Curious community members met Thursday evening at the Rochester Lion's Club for the 'Meet the Rochester City Candidates Night,' held by the Fulton County Women's Republican Club.

The event was open to the public and hosted by speaker Kasey Hensley, who introduced each candidate before giving them each ten minutes to speak.

Among those attending the event were the candidates for City Council at Large, starting with incumbent City Council member Bob Cannedy, current City Council President Brian Goodman and Marvin Davis, Amy Roe, who is running for Precinct 2, as well as the unopposed candidate for Precinct 3, Brian Fitzwater, who currently serves as a Rochester City Council Member.  

Finishing up the event with the candidates running for Mayor, the current Rochester City Mayor Ted Denton spoke on why he thought another four years in office would be beneficial for the town. Denton prided himself on being a professional manager before a politician, creating a team that would get the job done for the city he loves. For the past seven years, Denton said he's overseen the completion of over 60 projects, with another 20 in process, 11 of which is nearly complete already. 

New to politics and running against Denton, Trent Odell, owner of Odell Lumber, took the podium to introduce himself and his background as a farmer, business owner, pastor, coach and more.

Odell believes he has what it takes to bring change and new energy to Rochester.

Having a passion for helping others and learning new things, Odell plans on channeling this enthusiasm for growth and expansion in the community.