Area voters decide municipal election races

LEESBURG — Voters in southwest Georgia’s Lee and Calhoun counties decided multiple races in municipal elections Tuesday.

Here’s a roundup of the results:

Leesburg had three City Council posts up for election. David Preston Daughtry took the Post 4 seat unopposed with 181 votes. Rufus Lee Sherman Jr. won Post 5 with 156 votes over Michael Revell, who had 49. Amanda White claimed Post 6 with 182 votes after running unopposed.

Smithville also had three races on the ballot. Vincent Cutts won the mayoral race with 76 votes over write-in candidate Jessie Lee Angry, who received 27. James Champion Sr. ran unopposed for City Council Ward 1, receiving 35 votes. Shalnica French won the Ward 2 seat with 21 votes after running unopposed.

There were also races in Calhoun County’s Arlington and Edison municipalities.

In Arlington, Tyron George won the Post 1 spot with 193 votes over Raymond Williams, who received 147. Leonard Davis ran for Post 2 unopposed and collected 239 votes. L.C. Williams won the Post 3 election with 187 votes over Rena Bradley, who received 158.

Voter turnout was a bit lower than normal — about 20% less than previous years — Mary King, the county’s elections superintendent, said. There is usually a higher turnout when there is a mayoral race, she said.

Edison had one city council race — a race that was anticipated by many residents as the makeup of the town’s city officials has shifted since the city has worked toward overcoming a financial crisis since July.

Tia Ingram won the city council Post 3 position with 134 votes over Rob Turner, who received 57.

Fewer than 200 people turned out to vote in Edison’s elections. The city’s mayor, Shirley Worthy, said turnout was lower than expected. This low turnout comes after a three-month period of heavily attended public city meetings where citizens of Edison were vocal about concerns regarding city leadership and its ability to handle the city’s more than half a million dollars in debt.

Edison also saw two new city leaders in October with the swearing in of Worthy after former Mayor Reeves Lane resigned, as well as councilman Curtis Adams, who replaced former councilman Jack Johnson, who also resigned.

File Photo: Lucille Lannigan