Georgetown City Councilman Jack Scoville swept the competition in Tuesday’s election, and will be sworn in as the city’s new mayor in January.
Brendon Barber and Paige Sawyer were re-elected to their City Council seats but the top vote getter was newcomer Jeanette Ard, who will take Scoville’s old seat.
In the mayor’s race, Democrat Scoville received 821 votes while write-in candidate Ron Charlton finished in a distant second with 358 votes.
Petition candidate Bob Sizemore received 205 votes followed by Republican Marty Tennant with 188 votes.
Petition candidate Kizzie Lawson received 181 votes.
The numbers are unofficial until they are certified Thursday.
It was the first time since the 1980s the name Lynn Wood Wilson has not appeared on a ballot.
Wilson served on city council for seven years before he took over as mayor in 1993 when Tom Rubillo stepped down from the position.
That, along with picture-perfect weather are believed to be big factors in the 35-percent turnout, which was somewhat higher than in many off-year elections.
“I am very appreciative,” Scoville said after the final results were posted. “I never thought it would be a slam dunk. I was never ready to say I was the winner until all the votes were counted.”
Scoville said he wants to sit down with council informally in January to decide which issues need to be addressed during his first year as mayor.
In the City Council race, Ard, a Front Street business owner, received 1,050 votes, followed by Sawyer with 866 votes.
Barber picked up 846 votes to finish in third place. The top three vote getters were elected.
Dedric Bonds received 704 votes followed by Jim Moody with 566.
Republican Bruce Yablin got 212 votes.
“I felt pretty confident because I had a cross section of support,” Ard said.
She said she her first priority will be to try to find ways to bring jobs to Georgetown and “streamline city hall.”
Barber said the next four years will be “interesting” as council works to try to “get an infusion going in the economy.”
He said that must involve making the Port of Georgetown more viable.
Sawyer said he will continue to be the “lone conservative on council” and will speak out against taxing and spending.
The issues
With what could possibly be the permanent shut down of ArcelorMittal Steel in Georgetown, as well as the closing of other businesses around the city, money was the main issue of the campaign season.
Whether it was the amount of taxes collected, or how the city has been spending those funds, the newcomers zeroed in on the message that change is needed.
Tennant, late in the campaign season, raised concerns about the amount of money — $14 million – the city has in reserves.
Another dominating issue was the city’s decision to spend $1.07 million to purchase 18 acres of land on Highway 17 in Maryville for a new fire station.
The public, in letters to the editor, urged support for the various candidates for a smorgasbord of reasons.
Mary Ann Wannamaker said she was backing Sizemore because he was “instrumental in the formation of a New York Stock Exchange company (PSMC) and served as its Executive Vice President until his retirement in 1991.”
James Jerow was backing Sawyer because he is a “conservative voice on Council.”
Natasha Dones said she cast a vote for Scoville because “he took the time to knock on my door, introduce himself and share his economic plan for the city.”
Tennant received a letter of support from Carolyne Rogerson who said he is “an honest man, a man with integrity, whom we believe will be a valuable asset to the city.”
Long campaign season
The outcome is the culmination of several months of campaigning that began in earnest when the field of candidate was partially set as a result of the June party primaries.
That’s when Scoville came out on top defeating Wilson and then upsetting fellow council member Rudolph Bradley in a runoff two weeks later.
By August, the two petition candidates — Bob Sizemore and Kizzie Lawson — joined the race.
Charlton announced in September he was seeking the seat as a write-in, causing local political pundits to scratch their heads wondering how having three non-party candidates would impact the election.
For the most part, the campaign season was quiet with two major forums held for all the candidates to share their views.
In September, the GOP Patriot's Club invited all the candidates for mayor and city council to address the voters.
The second forum, organized by former Georgetown County Democratic Party Chairman Jamie Sanderson, was held in October.
The winners will be sworn into office in early January.
: 11/5/2009
http://www.gtowntimes.com/search/County-GOP-urges-city-to-drop-fine here's a fun one!
: 11/5/2009
here's another worth reviewing. remember steve thomas??? http://www.gtowntimes.com/search/Fireworks-over-the-ice-cream-shop
: 11/5/2009
Don't forget these news stories featuring our new Mayor-elect. What deals will be cut in the future behind the scenes by our council and mayor? http://www.gtowntimes.com/search/ard-building-July-162008-07-16T08-33-53
: 11/5/2009
He got "thrown out" in the primary. He didn't "bow" to anything. He plainly got beat.
: 11/5/2009
At least Bubba "Lynn" Wilson is not there anymore. Better to bow out than get thrown out. Goodbye Lynn Wilson!!!!!!!!!!!!!
: 11/5/2009
Georgetown typically takes a bit longer to catch up to the rest of the United States. Expect significant change here in say, another 100 years.
: 11/5/2009
Looks like they did throw the bums out in Va and NJ. It's a start.
: 11/5/2009
Just a note to the last poster. Gov. Sanford cannot run again. Sorry to disappoint.
Scoville Wins : 11/5/2009
A step in the right direction. It is only our small town, now if we can just vote out all the incumbents in this state including and first and foremost Our LUV GOV, maybe this state can move into the 20th Century.
: 11/5/2009
I understand the votes are being certified today and we will have a real number on the straight party votes. The poster below makes a bold statement. Let's see if he is the real loony bin or correct. If wrong, the post should be removed.
: 11/4/2009
The only vindictive posts so far seem to be from Scoville supporters.
: 11/4/2009
If Mr. Tennant was so great, he would not have finished almost last. Just because he yells and screams about something being wrong doesn't mean everyone agrees with him. There are some who feel the city's plan to relocate a lot of its services to the Maryville site is a good thing. Marty is a loony bin who thinks if he says it the world must fall in line behind him. The only reason hie got as many votes as he did is there were that many people who walked in and voted straight party.
: 11/4/2009
If it wasn't for Mr. Tennant, we would not be reading about the questionable Eagle Electric purchase, not to mention the 14 million dollar city surplus. His candidacy was the only one to bring forth the substantive issues. Is anyone reading about the issues the other candidates brought up? No, because there weren't any even worth mentioning. This was a brain dead popularity contest between who could be the least threat to business as usual.
: 11/4/2009
Marty's two supporters are now awake The bitterness they feel because of his loss is starting to shine now. WAY TO GO JACK! YOU WILL DO GREAT!
: 11/4/2009
I recall reading about Scoville, Sawyer and Wayne having their lawsuit against the city tossed out. Wasn't that when they sued Lynn Wood? Didn't the judge say they were suing themselves? Sounds like a circular firing squad.
: 11/4/2009
How can Sawyer get away with his "I'm opposed to taxing and spending" talk? Didn't he vote for the Eagle Electric mess?
: 11/4/2009
My goodness Marty is quiet today. I figured he would be out shouting and screaming about how the results yesterday were actually a victory for him. The same way he claims to have been victorious in court over and over when in reality he has lost teh cases or they have been tossed out.
: 11/4/2009
Marty tried campaigning with a giraffe a few years ago. That did not work. He tried a billboard this time. That did not work. Maybe a giraffe on a billboard next time?
: 11/4/2009
This is not a comment on the story so much as it is a comment on the format of this article in general. Can someone at the Times learn how to format an online article with modern standards like bold headings or proper paragraph separations? It would be great to not have to read a giant wall of text in every article.
Good election, Georgetown : 11/4/2009
Congratulations to all of the voted-in candidates! Georgetown has chosen the right people to do a good job for them. Good luck to all of you!!!!
: 11/4/2009
Congratulations Georgetown! You voted and I will be laughing when you get what you voted for. I am looking for another town to move to because this one is gonna crumble like smelly moldy cheese. The definition of crazy is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Lol enjoy your decision!
: 11/4/2009
Well, congratulations Jack! Question...when will you visit our church again? Oops, I forgot, you guys only show up in the BLACK churches when you want our votes.
: 11/4/2009
Congratulations Paige -- and thanks for your service.
: 11/4/2009
Congratulations to all on their win. I am not terribly please but I will accept it. I will not; however, be complacent. I urge all of you to no longer be complacent. To be vocal and call our elected leaders out when they misstep. To make sure that fiscally-we the people are not taxed and fee'd to death. Attend council meetings. Demand to know why executive sessions are called for simple real estate transactions. Demand the attention you deserve and do not allow apathy to become a disease that infects us all. We cannot afford the healthcare on that one. To the one that said Marty would have still lost even if no one else was running, I beg to differ. There were more votes against Scoville than for him. That in itself hopefully will be an eyeopener.
: 11/4/2009
Georgetown is doomed. The leadership (or lack thereof) from liberal tax and spend Jack Scoville will do more damage to the city than HUGO did. Marty should hold his head up high. He stepped forward and did the right things. I am disappointed that even if the other three had not run Marty would have still lost. You just can't beat the straight ticket dead vote in Georgetown. Did anybody else see any dead relatives vote yesterday?
: 11/4/2009
Yes, they spoke loudly for a candidate that made promises. Will he work to make them reality? I hope so, because I always like free over paid. Don't you?
: 11/4/2009
This has nothing to do with entitlement. The people spoke LOUDLY. They gave Jack FOUR TIMES the vote as Marty. The speaks volumes. No one likes Marty. It has been spelled out in plain English.
: 11/4/2009
Can't wait for that free wireless Internet Jack promised everybody. The entitlement society lives on in Georgetown. Should be easy to pay for with that $14 million in the bank!
: 11/4/2009
Well, I missed it by one. I predicted Scoville, Barber, Ard and Moody would win. Sawyer won and Moody lost. My only flaw. Not bad. For mayor, Georgetown did the right thing, in my opinion.