One city incumbent ousted; Hersey returns to BOC
Challengers made a strong showing in Eatonton’s city elections Tuesday, but except for one breakthrough, voters stuck with familiar leaders both in Eatonton and in the four-way race for the vacant District 3 seat on the county commission.
Veteran Mayor John Reid pulled out a 14-vote win over the Rev. Fred Lowe to begin a fifth four-year term as mayor. Reid has experienced both sides of close vote totals. In 2015, after 11 years as a council member and three terms as mayor, Reid lost a re-election bid by 17 votes. In Tuesday’s vote totals, Reid received 612 votes to Lowe’s 598.
Reid appeared a little surprised at the closeness of the race, but shrugged, “It’s a win. Enough people with a knowledge of how government works came out. The city is in good shape, and we are moving forward.”
Despite three competitive races, only 1,210 voters – 30 percent of the city’s 4,041 registered voters – cast ballots.
The numbers were even lower in the county commission race for the vacant District 3 seat, but they were easily enough to sweep Steve Hersey, another veteran public official, back into office.
District 3 covers the Lake Oconee area and the northern half of Lake Sinclair. It has the largest number of registered voters among the county’s five districts – 5,174 – but only 805 (15.5 percent) cast ballots in Tuesday’s election.
Hersey received 493 – or 54.1 percent – of those votes to win without a run-off. Shona Bales pulled another 25 percent with her 206 total, with Charles Gray and William Vargo splitting the remainder.
“I am very appreciative of everybody who supported me,” Hersey said. “I’m ready to go to work.”
“I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep, but I will speak out, especially about STRs (short-term rentals), tax relief for seniors, and out-of-control spending,” he continued.
Hersey has previously served multiple terms as chairman of the school board and chairman of the county commission.
In the city-wide councilman-at-large race between Chip Walker (with eight four-year terms behind him) and challenger Richard Garrett, Walker eased past Garrett, 616 to 563.
“It’s not what we wanted, but it is what it is,” Walker said.
One veteran council member, Alvin Butts, was ousted by newcomer Mike Smith in the race for the combined Ward 2 and Ward 3 seat. Smith won, 400 to 242.