Mayor

H. Neal Florence was born in Cedartown, Georgia, in 1951.  In 1976, he graduated from the University of Georgia Pharmacy School.  He worked as a pharmacist for Rhyne Bros. Pharmacy from 1976 until 1979.  In 1979, he purchased Medi-Thrift Pharmacy, which he operates with his wife, Carolyn.  The Florences have two sons, Mason and Kevin.  Mason is married to Rachel M. and Kevin married to Rachel H.  He has served as mayor since 1989.  He attends First Baptist Church, has been a member since 1977 and has served as a deacon since 1996.  He is chairman of the Georgia Pharmacy Association's Governmental Affairs Committee.  He also serves on the Service Board of Directors for the Bank of LaFayette.

Council Member Ward 1

Andy Arnold is a LaFayette High School graduate and life-long Walker County resident.  A city resident for more than 20 years, he has served on the City Council since 2002.  He has been teaching and coaching at LaFayette High for 20 years.  He earned a bachelor's and master's degree at Jacksonville State University.  He, wife Teresa and their sons, Cameron, Caleb and Carson, are actively involved at First Baptist Church of LaFayette, where he is a deacon and teaches Sunday school.

Council Member Ward 2

Ben Bradford was born in 1978 and is a life-long resident of Walker County.  He has lived inside the city limits since 2002.  Ben graduated from LaFayette High School in 1997 and attended the University of the Cumberlands, where he was awarded a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 2002.  He taught science at the high school level for eight years before earning his juris doctorate from Atlanta's John Marshall Law School in 2010.  He is currently employed as an assistant public defender at the Walker County branch of the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit Office of the Public Defender.  Ben and his wife, Lindsay, along with their three sons, Ryan, Jesse, and Max, attend Naomi Baptist Church. 

Council Member Ward 3

Judy Meeks was born in Stevenson Alabama and graduated from Stevenson High School in 1966. She is married to Wallace Meeks, and has lived in the city of LaFayette for the past 43 years.  They have two sons, Wally & Myrtle Meeks and Stacey and Jennifer Meeks, five grandchildren and one great-grandson. She just retired from Mount Vernon Mills where she was Denim Lab manager for the past 35 years. She served on the LaFayette City Council from 2004-2008.

Council Member Ward 4

Chris Davis                    

Council Member At-Large

Wayne Swanson was born in Greenville, South Carolina, in 1951.  He moved to LaFayette later that year and graduated from LaFayette High School in 1970.  In 1972 he was hired by the City of LaFayette as manager of the LaFayette Golf Course.  He left the golf course in 1986 to open his own business.   He has served on the council since 1997.  He is employed by Restaurant Enterprises.