Central mayor wins re-election

Central Mayor Mac Martin will serve a second four-year term after winning re-election Tuesday night and, beginning in January, he will be working with three new town council members.

Martin received 163 votes as opposed to 98 for challenger David Donald, who has served the past eight years on Town Council. Meanwhile, Benjie Cumbie, Paige Bowers and Ken Dill were the top vote-getters for Town Council; they received 187, 139 and 129 votes, respectively.

Incumbent Town Council member Tracey Reynolds lost her re-election bid by finishing a distant fourth with 89 votes; followed by Joe N. Moss, 82 votes; J. Wallace Palmer, 64 votes; and Jerry Turner, 22 votes. There were also four write-in votes.

Martin said on Tuesday night that he was surprised at the margin of his win, adding he appreciated the support received from his campaign. The mayor said he also looks forward to working with the new council members.

“I feel these folks have done their homework, they’re well-versed in the problems and issues in town and we will be able to work with them and get some great things accomplished,” Martin said.

When asked what specific goals he would like to address at the start of his second term, Martin named recommendations from the economic development survey presented earlier this year, obtaining funding for construction of the new Central recreation complex, improving the downtown and infrastructure to bring in new businesses.

“I think we’re going to have an aggressive council,” he said.

Donald, whose term on Town Council will end after this year, said he appreciates all the support provided during his campaign.

“I have the deepest respect for everyone that tried to get me elected,” Donald said. “I still have my pride and respect and wish Mac the best.”

Donald named streetscape among the many projects he is most proud of seeing take place during his time in office.

“I’m proud of everything I’ve done in my eight years,” he said. “I’m not ashamed of anything.”

The Central business owner said it was too early to think about whether he will make a bid to regain his council seat in two years, adding, “I’m just looking forward to being a regular citizen.”

While Reynolds was defeated in her re-election bid and Donald chose to run for mayor, Gary White, the other incumbent council member, chose not to seek another term.

Voter turnout throughout Pickens County was extremely light on Tuesday as only 1,838 of the county’s 19,463 registered voters — 9.44 percent — went to the polls.

The municipal election results in Pickens County — which, in addition to Central, also included Six Mile, Liberty, Pickens and Easley — are unofficial and won’t be certified until Thursday. A hearing on any challenged ballots will be conducted in the Pickens County Board Room, inside the Pickens County Administration Building located at 222 McDaniel Avenue in Pickens, starting at 9 a.m.

greg@dailyjm.com | (864) 973-6687

Walhalla votes yes on 4 years

Two area elections came to a close on Tuesday night with three council incumbents losing their seats to new faces.

In Walhalla, Mayor Randy Chastain who will keep his seat because he ran with no opposition, said he was disappointed in the voter turnout.

With roughly 1,700 registered voters in Walhalla, only 228 people cast their choice for the mayor and six open council seats.

In addition, a new referendum passed that will take effect in 2011. It states that following an election, the mayor and the top three vote-getters will get to stay on the council for four years while the bottom three will stay on for two years.

In total, 130 people voted yes to passing the referendum while 94 voted no.

Ron Winchester and William Addis, current council members, fell short of necessary votes with 103 and 113 respectively.

Newcomers Broadus Albertson, Tommy Crumpton and Charles Buddy Land will be joining the Walhalla council with incumbents Kenny Johns, Davy Lee and Duane Wilson.

Albertson received 139 votes, Crumpton received 130 votes, Land received 145 votes, Johns received 162 votes, Lee received 150 votes and Wilson received 144 votes. Crumpton and Land have both served on the council in previous years, while Crumpton served from 1991 until 2003. Albertson also served as the chief of police in Walhalla.

In Salem, council members Tony Grogan and Myrtle Coward were up for re-election, but only one received enough votes to stay on.

With a 40 percent voter turnout, Grogan received 37 percent of the votes while town librarian and newbie to the political environment Tony L. Moore received 30 percent of the votes, knocking out Coward who received 24 percent of the votes.

Mayor Diane Head, Ralph Whitmire and Kevin Talley won’t run again until the 2011 election.

jsibley@dailyjm.com | (864) 882-2375