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Most voters stayed home on Election Day

Justin Addison, Editor/Publisher
Posted 4/13/21

The New Franklin School district will have two new faces on its Board of Education as a result of the April 6 municipal and school board elections. Newcomers Alan Marshall and Kirk Wilmsmeyer …

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Most voters stayed home on Election Day

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The New Franklin School district will have two new faces on its Board of Education as a result of the April 6 municipal and school board elections. Newcomers Alan Marshall and Kirk Wilmsmeyer received 106 and 104 votes, respectively, out of a field of four candidates. Matt McGruder pulled in 65 of the 327 votes cast, and Lisa Maupin had 51. Terms are for three years. Neither of the two incumbents, Darren Harris and John Bailey, sought re-election.

The only other contested race on the ballot was for the Higbee school board. Only a handful of voters in Howard County were eligible to vote as the school district exists mostly in Randolph County. Incumbent Rusty Ratliff secured 13 of the 29 votes cast here, and William Smith garnered 10. Both men would go on to win the Randolph County vote as well.

The board’s only other incumbent, Mindy Huddleston, did not seek re-election.

School boards in Fayette, Glasgow, and Harrisburg declined to hold elections as there were as many candidates as open seats.

Voters also approved the continuation of taxes for the Armstrong and Glasgow Special Road Districts.

One registered write-in candidate was elected to the Howard County Public Water Supply District No. 1. Eric Lembke garnered five votes.

Howard County Clerk Shelly Howell predicted a low voter turnout since only there were only two contested races on the ballots. A total of 350 ballots were cast for a 6.49% turnout.

Because some races had fewer candidates than open seats, write-ins will be considered. Four names were written in for the South Ward of the Glasgow City Council. Former Mayor Fred Foley received three, while JY Miller, Virgil King, and Justin McMillan each received one. On two ballots the write-in oval was colored in, but no candidate name was provided.

The East Ward seat for the Armstrong City Council had no candidates but two names were written in. They were Chris Degraffenreid and Christopher Degraffenreid. Although it is extremely likely this is the same person, the clerk must count them separately because they are spelled two different ways. There was also one write-in vote left blank, although the oval was darkened.

Ward 2 for the New Franklin City had no candidates, but there were 11 write-in votes. James Pointer received five of those votes. Mary Beth Sokolski, who was already the lone candidate for Ward 3, received two write-in votes. Incumbent John James, who did not file for re-election, also received two write-in votes.

Elsewhere in New Franklin, Seth Hallowell and Sokolski both won uncontested races for Wards 1 and 3 of the city council.

In Fayette, incumbent city council members Stephanie Ford and Grafton Cook were re-elected having faced no opposition. East Ward Alderwoman Kylie Tillman, who was appointed to the seat, was unopposed in her bid to finish out the remainder of the term. Jeremy Dawson, who was forced to resign that East Ward seat after moving to a home in a different ward, ran unopposed for the Northwest Ward. The former councilman for that ward, Pat Roll, did not seek to be formally elected after he was appointed to fill the vacated seat on August 4, 2020.

Fayette City Marshal David Ford was officially elected to the position. He was appointed after former Chief of Police Jeff Oswald was sworn in as Sheriff after he was elected in November.

Glasgow will swear in a new Mayor at its next city council meeting. Jason Wright was unopposed and garnered 42 votes. There were also nine write-in votes. Incumbent David Monnig did not seek re-election. Susan Freese and Renna Bean were both unopposed for the North and Central Ward seats, respectively. 

All races in Franklin were unopposed. Teddy Townlain will be sworn in as the new Mayor, along with William Grindstaff and C. Wayne Purvis in Wards 1 and 2, respectively, on the Board of Aldermen.

Armstrong also had two uncontested races. Rebecca J. Kurtz will be the new East Ward Alderman and Travis Gregory will be the new West Ward Alderman.

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