Incumbents' nighit at polls: Light turnout, no change in town board

reporter@thefranklinpress.com

The unofficial election results are in, and they show that incumbent Franklin Mayor Joe Collins has won the election.

Collins received 255 total votes, or 51.41 percent. His opponent, Bob Scott, received a total of 241 votes, or 48.59 percent.

"I'm pleased," Collins said about the results. "Bob ran a good, hard campaign and I commend him for it. The board has remained in tact and I take that as a good sign that the public is satisfied with what we have done."

Collins said that he is looking forward to continue serving the town as mayor.

"I applaud Bob for the hard race that he ran," he added.

Scott released a statement after the election, saying that he will continue to make sure that town government is open and to work for the public to take a more active role in town business.

"I see my duty as the public's watchdog on town business," he said. "At this time I have no plans to run again for mayor although I reserve the right to change my mind. At the end of the remaining two years of my seat on the town board I will not seek reelection to the board. I promised the public I would seek only two terms and I will honor that pledge. I believe in term limits.

"I wish more people had come out to vote. I do realize there was a great deal of confusion about where to vote. I believe the town can do a much better job of communicating with the public. I suggest that all town elections be held at the town hall as that is the most logical and best situated facility for the municipal election.

"It was a close race and it showed that half the voters wanted a change in the office of mayor. I congratulate all the candidates on a fine race and wish all of them the best in their endeavors."

As for the aldermen, incumbents Billy Mashburn, Jerry Evans and Sissy Pattillo all remain on the board. Mashburn received 350 total votes, or 25.62 percent. Pattillo received the next highest total votes, 313, or 22.91 percent. Evans had a total of 241 votes, or 17.64 percent. Ron Winecoff got 234 total votes, or 17.13 percent. Angela Hubbs Moore received 225 total votes, or 16.47 percent.

There are 2,651 registered voters within the Franklin town limits, according to the Board of Elections office. At the polls, 289 people voted and 190 people voted one-stop. There were 14 absentee ballots by mail.

Aldermen shared their comments after the election.

"I'm just extremely delighted to be back on the board for the next four years and look forward to working with everybody," Mashburn said.

"I think it was a very close election," Evans said. "I'm kind of disappointed with the turnout but I am happy to serve another four years. I think the board has done some good things in the past four years and this is a reflection of that."

"I think that we had an interesting race and I think the people have spoken," Pattillo said. "It was evident they didn't want change."

Pattillo added that the town has many projects going on and that the board will continue to move forward. She also spoke about the voter turnout, saying that she thought it was a shame that more people who are registered voters didn't vote.

Moore and Winecoff also made comments after the election.

"I really appreciate all the people who came out and voted, especially the ones who voted for me," Moore said, adding that it means a lot when people come out and vote in town elections.

Winecoff congratulated the winners.

"I'd like to thank them for running a clean campaign and thank the people who voted for me," he said.