Voters return incumbants
Published 1:10 pm Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Voters here Tuesday returned all incumbents for another four years, although absentee ballots had to determine the fate of Aldermen William “Bill” Winborn.
In unofficial returns Winborn tallied 249 votes or 13.80 percent, in his close contest with former alderman Anne G. Smith who garnered 247 votes or 13.68 percent.
Incumbent alderman John Grant led the field with 289 votes (16.01 percent), followed by Shirley Wiltshire with 288 (15.96 percent), Byron Wells 272 (15.07 percent), John Sherman 260 (14.40 percent), Winborn and Smith. Ronald Dunston completed the balloting with 199 votes or 11.02 percent.
Incumbent Mayor Billy W. Spiers led balloting for the top city spot with 262 votes (60.23 percent) against challenger Lawrence Earl Everett with 172 votes or 39.54 percent.
Voting, while heavy at times with long lines, was still light with only 452 voters out of 1,667 registered voters participating. In the first Democratic primary on May 5 only 318 votes were tallied.
The winners will take office in July.
Candidates basically repeated the comments of the earlier primary when asked about the low turnout. One said people appeared surprised that it was already time for the election again. Spiers said it was one of the quietest elections he had seen.
Spiers said he was pleased that the voters placed their confidence in him again. He said with the completion of the ADA curbing in the city the next project would be addressing aging water lines and streets.