METRO ALBANY ELECTIONS: Former county commissioners reclaim seats

LEESBURG — Not long after the dust settled following Tuesday’s Lee County primary elections, two candidates were already gearing up for another round of campaigning as Melanie Gahring and Miles O’Quinn prepare to square off in a July 26 runoff to determine the county’s next Probate Judge.

Tuesday’s probate court race was a tight one with four candidates involved, but Probate Court Deputy Clerk Melanie Gahring ultimately took 28.7 percent of the vote with 1,282 ballots, and Southwestern Judicial Circuit investigator Miles O’Quinn garnered 1,214 votes, or 27.18 percent.

Attorney Gail Drake, who earned 1,151 votes, and Lee Sheriff’s Office administrator Jeffrey Kirt, who captured 818 votes, each had a significant impact on the outcome of the race, earning 25.77 percent and 18.31 percent of the votes, respectively.

“I was expecting a runoff and hoping I’d be one of the ones involved,” O’Quinn said Wednesday. “I’m tired, (but) I’m ready to back out there and start shaking hands and meeting people. I’ve got to try to get people to come back, and that’s going to be tough.”

O’Quinn’s challenger said she was also eager to start campaigning, adding that she expected the race to be run much the same way it had leading in the primary.

“I think it was a good, clean campaign between all the candidates,” said Gahring. “Miles and I are friends, and we talked about it last night. We’re going in as friends, and we’re going to come out as friends. We’re not against each other, we’re just running for the same job. I’m excited about this, and I’m looking forward to continuing to serve the Lee County citizens like I have in the past.”

Former Lee County commissioner Bill Williams, who garnered 530 votes in a surprisingly sparse turnout for Tuesday’s Republican primary election, won’t have to wait for the results of a runoff, having defeated Lee Johnston, who tallied 355 votes, for the right to represent the residents of southeast Lee County.

“I’m ready to go to work,” Williams said after election totals came in. “It was a good race and, frankly, I thought it would be closer. When there’s such a disappointing turnout like we had today, anything can happen.

“I think we have to get our finances back in order, improve our employees’ morale, expand our fire services and protect our EMS. Those are my immediate concerns.”

In another contested race on the GOP ballot, Tax Commissioner Susan Smith retained her post, earning 2,148 votes to Lee Sheriff’s Deputy Tommy Goodwin’s 1,500.

In Terrell County, incumbent Sheriff John Bowens and James Driver, one of two challengers in the Democratic primary, are headed for a runoff. Bowens received 917 votes, 40.94 percent of the votes cast, to Driver’s 697 votes, 31.12 percent. The third candidate in that race, Dawson Police Department Capt. Wallace Price, received 626 votes, enough to force the runoff.

Despite having to continue campaigning for the next few weeks, Bowens said he is comfortable with where he is and is grateful for how things went Tuesday.

“I think the night went well,” the sheriff said, “I didn’t get enough to win, but I am at the top spot. I got the highest percentage. I’ll go after it again on July 26. I feel good about it, and I appreciate those who support me.”

Driver said he was not surprised by the need for a runoff with three people in the race, and he said he believes the voters sent a clear message Tuesday.

“The point was made by the numbers Wallace (Price) and I got that people are ready for change,” Driver said. “We are (wanting) to be the ones to bring that change.”

The hotly contested Terrell County tax commissioner’s race to replace retiring Commissioner Peggy Pritchard is also headed for a runoff. Chief Tax Appraiser Darlene Paul led the four-way race with 795 votes and will face runner-up Mary Ellen Harnage on July 26. Harnage’s total of 506 votes put her ahead of fellow candidates Christie Cooper, 473 votes, and Alice Countryman Carter, 431 votes.

“I feel good about the results,” Paul said. “I was the top vote-getter. I would have liked to not have a runoff, but with four people in the race, but that was pretty much impossible.”

Elsewhere in Terrell County, in the District 1 Board of Education race, incumbent John Gardner easily won re-election, outpolling challenger D.U. Pullum 345 votes to 180.

In the lone Mitchell County contested race, incumbent Coroner Steddrick Thomas easily retained his office by outdistancing challenger Shaft Martin 1,298-523 in the Democratic primary.

Incumbents had mixed results in Worth County, where Republican businessman and former county commissioner Fred Dent, who will not face Democratic opposition, beat incumbent Mike Cosby 1,698 votes to 1,088 to claim the county commission chairmanship.

“I’m very pleased,” Dent said of his victory Wednesday. “I’m elated, and I’m humbled at the same time. We’ve got some work to do. We’ve got some issues in Worth County, but collectively we’re going to work through them. We’re going to make Worth County a great place to live.”

District I Commissioner Joe Gaines, who, like Dent, has no opposition in November, was able to retain his seat, edging challenger Tony Hall 207-144 in the Democratic primary.

Incumbent Coroner Johnny Johnson held off Republican challenger Boyd Brown 1,469 votes to 1,295 to claim the primary race Tuesday. Johnson will face Democrat Josh Luke in the Nov. 8 general election.

Incumbent Sheriff Jeff Hobby easily won his Republican primary race over Charlie Fortson, 2,200 votes to 656, and will face Democrat Tracy Jones in the general election.

Worth’s incumbent State Court judge, Ralph Powell, also retained his seat, outpolling challenger Jay Crowe 2,037-1,490 in a nonpartisan race.

Terry Lewis, Jennifer Parks, Chaunte’l Powell, Jon Gosa and Carlton Fletcher contributed to this report.