Oneida Elects Two New Aldermen
Two incumbent aldermen were reelected while two others were unseated in Saturday's election in the Town of Oneida.
Sharon Miller and Cecil Anderson will replace James M. "Jim" Swann and MacArthur Burchfield on the four-member board, while incumbents Jeff Tibbals and James E. Smith were retained for four-year terms.
Jack E. Lay, running unopposed, received 570 complimentary votes for a new term as mayor.
Tibbals, who had been appointed by the board to fill the unexpired term of the late Clifton Koger, wound up as the top vote-getter among the nine vying for aldermen in the election as he finished with 382.
Right behind Tibbals was James E. Smith with 343. Miller, an unsuccessful candidate for mayor four years earlier, picked up 359 votes, followed by former alderman and mayor Anderson, with 319.
Other candidates, and their vote totals in descending order, were: David Lowe, Jr. (303), Burchfield (288), Swann (273), Charles "Wompie" Sexton (164), and Mary King (68).
A total of 828 of the town's 2,040 registered voters cast ballots in this election (approximately 41%). Of that number, 456 of the ballots were cast during the two-week Early Voting period (57% of those who voted).
By virtue of being the top vote-getter, Tibbals is expected to assume the position of vice mayor of the town, replacing Smith, who held the title in the previous term.
A breakdown of the voting shows that Mayor Lay received 344 votes during Early Voting and 226 on election day.
A breakdown of the totals for the nine candidates for aldermen reveals that Tibbals was the top vote-getter during the 12 days of Early Voting with 219, and received 163 on election day. Smith earned 201 votes in Early Voting and 142 on election day. Miller received 194 early votes and was the top vote-getter election day with 165. Anderson received 186 in early voting and 133 on election day. The totals for the unsuccessful candidates for aldermen were: Burchfield (158/133), Swann (132/141), Lowe (175/128), Sexton (83/81) and King (33/35).
The moderate voter turnout for this election resulted in a rather close election, when viewed from the percentage of the votes cast for individual candidates. Only four percentage points seperated the top vote getter (Tibbals, with 15%) with the seventh highest vote-getter in the race (Swann, with 11%). Both Miller and Smith finished with 14% of the votes, Anderson had 13% and Burchfield and Lowe with 12% each. Sexton and King wound up with 7% and 3% of the votes, respectively.
Miller and Anderson, the two newcomers to the board, replace Alderman Burchfield and Swann, who had served just one term.
The Scott County Election Commission is scheduled to meet on Friday afternoon to formally certify the election returns.
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