MARIETTA - Two residents qualified to run for retiring Marietta school board member Tom Smith's Ward 6 seat Monday.

Michelle Kelly, a manager with Anheuser-Busch, and Thomas Cheater, a manager with BT Global, a telecommunications provider, both signed up to run for the seat.

All seven school board members are up for election on Nov. 3, with the qualifying period ending at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Cheater has two children who attend Marietta Sixth Grade Academy. Kelly has a child at the Marietta Center for Advanced Academics, and a child at Sawyer Road Elementary.

Smith said he'd like to see Cheater replace him on the board.

"I think Tom would represent the school system well, I do. I don't know if that helps him or hurts him to get an endorsement from me," Smith said with a laugh.

"I don't get the impression that Tom is status quo by any means, but I don't think he's a cynic about what we've been doing. I think he sees the positive things and wants to fix things where he can. He's a little bit more like me in that sense," Smith said.

Also to qualify Monday was Robert "Bobby" Thanepohn, a former co-president of the Marietta Charter School PTA who works for CryoLife in Kennesaw. Thanepohn signed up for the Ward 1 seat held by Scott Allen, a chiropractor who is not seeking re-election.

Four incumbents also qualified without opposition Monday.

They are board Chairman Tony Fasola (Ward 2), a sales manager for a television production company; board member Jill Mutimer (Ward 4), a financial consultant; Randy Weiner, (Ward 3) owner of a window cleaning business; and board member Irene Berens (Ward 7), a ballet teacher.