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LaGrange Councilman Quay Boddie will run unopposed on the ballot for his District 2 seat.

Boddie was the only candidate to qualify to run for the seat as of the end of qualifying on Aug. 25. Boddie is seeking his first full term on the council.

Unless there is an unexpected write-in campaign, Boddie will earn his second term on the council without facing an opponent. Boddie previously lost to Councilman Leon Childs in the special election to replace LeGree McCamey, who passed away in office. Boddie finished second in the initial five-candidate race but lost to Childs in the runoff.

Boddie was later appointed to the former council seat of Mayor Willie Edmondson when Edmondson and Councilman Jim Arrington stepped down to run for mayor.

Boddie said it feels amazing to be elected unopposed. He said his campaign team had been preparing for different scenarios, but now they can relax.

“It feels good. It’s really an honor,” Boddie said, saying it’s an honor to be trusted by the citizens that they are willing to allow him to run unopposed.

“It’s just a blessing. A lot of people dream of being where we are and doing what we’re doing,” Boddie said. “It’s amazing to have God see fit for me to be in this seat.”

Boddie said he is a second-generation civil servant of LaGrange. He said his grandmother Dorothy Boddie worked for the City of LaGrange for 33 years.

Dorothy was the first African American woman to be hired by the City of LaGrange and worked with current City Manager Meg Kelsey as she was moving up through the ranks, Boddie said. He said Dorothy had several roles at city hall but spent a lot of time with recordkeeping.

Boddie said he hopes to help bring the city closer together during his upcoming term.

“My goal is to continue to be the example of trying to bring things and bring people together. In the current climate that we’re dealing with, there’s so much chaos, so much division. It’s so much ‘I don’t like this person’ and so much greed, jealousy and hate. I just really want for us to just come together,” Boddie said.

“Sometimes that’s why we suffer. If we’re leaders and we can’t get along and we can’t do what we’re supposed to do, how can we help make the city better?” Boddie said.

“It’s going to take the citizens getting involved as well. A lot of times people look at leaders and say ‘What are you going to do about this?’ or ‘What are you going to do about that?’“ Boddie said. “It takes everybody. We’re not we’re not superheroes.”

When Boddie isn’t helping lead the city or calling Callaway High football games on the radio, he works as an independent contractor specializing in home inspections. He said the job offers him the flexibility to do the things he has to do as a city councilman.

Boddie said he sought reelection because he feels he has a duty to the city and his district and to be a role model to the next generation.

“I never would have in a million years thought that I would be on the city council, but this is what God saw fit for my life,” Boddie said.