Three Republicans looking to fill the District 45 House of Representatives seat will vie for the Republican nomination today.

Irondale Mayor Tommy Joe Alexander, Leeds businessman Dickie Drake and Irondale businessman Michael Sumners are each looking to make it to the general election where the GOP winner will face Democrat Paige Parnell.

The general election to fill the seat vacated with the passing of Owen Drake in July is scheduled for October 11. However, if a run-off is needed in the Republican primary, the general election will be held November 29. To avoid a run-off one of the three Republicans will have to earn at least 51 percent of the vote.

As the lone Democrat, Parnell is not facing a primary challenger.

Polls will open for District 45 voters on Tuesday beginning at 7 a.m. and continuing through 7 p.m. Leeds polling places will be at the Leeds Civic Center and the Leeds First United Methodist Church Family Life Center.

Following is some information on each of three Republican candidates.

Tommy Joe Alexander, Mayor of Irondale

A Leeds High School graduate, Tommy Joe Alexander is no stranger to the needs of District 45’s growing communities. He’s confronted the issues head-on over the past seven years as mayor of Irondale and has turned the city’s finances around with conservative fiscal policies in that time.

“When I came into office in Irondale in 2004, we didn’t know if we’d be able to pay our bills or not. Thirty-five people had been laid off, and in the next year (after he took office) we hired everyone back, we’ve been paying our bills, and this past year we took $1 million out of our budgets,” Alexander said.

Dickie Drake, Business owner, Leeds

Leeds resident Dickie Drake is one of the Republicans looking to carry out the work of his late brother, Owen Drake.

Drake said he was inspired to run by the work his brother had done as a state representative.

“I know I will never be able to fill my brother’s shoes, but I would like to follow in his footsteps to honor him and carry on his work,” Drake said.

Drake is retired from the military and is a small business owner with his son, Heath Drake. Together they own Drake Lawn Maintenance, a commercial and industrial grounds maintenance company.

Michael Sumners, Vice President of Richardson Construction, Irondale

Michael Sumners does not describe himself as a politician. But in his opinion, that’s exactly the kind of representative that District 45 needs.

“We need citizen legislators, normal people who know how to do right, who are willing to do right morally and know how to handle things and manage money,” Sumners said. “I wish we had more people like me instead of more (career) politicians, people who go for the right reasons.”

A Leeds native and a 1995 graduate of Moody High School, Sumners attended Auburn University and received a bachelor degree in building science, leading him to his current career in construction and contracting.

“So much of what I do in this particular business has to do with budget and numbers and managing people, it’s very similar to what our elected officials and leaders have to do,” Sumners said.

– Amber Thompson contributed to this report.