Voters on Tuesday elected new mayors in Alto and Baldwin and returned Tallulah Falls’ mayor to office. While Election Day 2023 brought some changes to local government, it was marked more by what it did not bring – voters.
Of the 8,463 registered municipal voters in Habersham County (not including Tallulah Falls), only 668 cast ballots. That’s an overall voter turnout of just 7.89%.
[Rabun County runs elections for Tallulah Falls, which posted a 43.5% voter turnout.]
- Habersham County municipal election results
- Helen voters will go back to the polls for city council runoff
Despite the low voter turnout, Habersham County Election Supervisor Laurel Ellison says the election “went pretty well,” with only a few minor hiccups.
“We didn’t get that many calls except from people who were not registered to vote in the city limits or they were at the wrong precinct,” says Ellison.
Below is a breakdown of Habersham County’s final, unofficial election results:
Alto
In Alto, Patricia Gail Armour defeated incumbent mayor P.J. Huggins by eight votes. Armour received 27 votes (55%) to Huggins’ 19 (39%). John Smith came in a distant third with only three votes (6%).
Council Post 2 and 4 incumbents James Turner and Eddie Palmer ran unopposed. Both will return to the Alto Town Council next year.
Overall voter turnout for Alto was 10.36%, with 49 of the town’s 473 registered voters casting ballots.
Baldwin
In Baldwin, Stephanie Almagno defeated challenger Tom Whitney in the mayor’s race. Almagno won by 56 votes. She received 134 votes (63%) to Whitney’s 78 (37%). The race was perhaps the most hotly-contested of Tuesday’s local elections and drew the second-highest voter turnout in Habersham County.
According to county election records, 213 of Baldwin’s 1,691 registered voters cast ballots in the Nov. 7 election.
Almagno vacated her Post 3 city council seat to run for mayor. Kerri Davis will succeed her. Davis was one of three candidates who ran unopposed for three open seats on the city council.
Joseph Satterfield will assume the Post 2 seat in January. Erik Keith, who the council appointed to fill the remainder of Larry Lewallen’s term through the end of this year, will retain his Post 1 seat.
Whitney congratulated Almagno in a statement he shared with Now Habersham: “I offer my sincerest congratulations to Stephanie Almagno on her victory and wish her nothing but success.” The first-time candidate also offered his gratitude to supporters. “To those that supported me along the way, know that I am truly grateful for the faith and trust you bestowed upon me.”
Though Whitney did not get the result he had hoped for, he states, “I will continue to advocate for the people of Baldwin.”
Clarkesville
Voters elected Don Nix to fill the Post 3 city council seat in Clarkesville. Nix defeated Jessamie Vincent by 39 votes. Nix received 68 votes (70%) to Vincent’s 29 votes (30%).
Incumbent Post 2 council member Brad Coppedge won reelection. First elected in 2022 to fill the unexpired of Roxie Barron, Coppedge ran unopposed for a full four-year term.
Only 99 of Clarkesville’s 1,286 registered voters cast ballots in this year’s election. That’s an overall turnout of 7.7%.
Nix expressed his feelings about winning the election, “I am excited and gratified to be elected to serve on the Clarkesville City Council.”
For him, Clarkesville is not just his hometown but “a special place with a great history.” He adds that “growth is inevitable” and his “interest is to preserve what is good and help look for enhancements that will make this a better place.”
Cornelia
Incumbent Cornelia Mayor John Borrow secured another term, as did Ward 1 Commissioner Mark Reed and Ward 4 Commissioner Tony Cook. All three ran unopposed.
The only item on the ballot for Cornelia voters was the Redevelopment Powers Law referendum. It passed with 61% of the vote, 74 to 47.
Cornelia posted a 5.14% voter turnout, with just 121 of the city’s 2,353 registered voters casting ballots.
Demorest
In Demorest, council member Donnie Bennett won reelection. He was the top vote-getter for two at-large seats. Bennett secured 95 of the 123 votes cast (42%). Jimmy Davis placed second, edging out Jim Welborn by a mere four votes. Davis received 68 votes (30%) to Welborn’s 64 votes (28%). Davis will take over the seat currently held by John Hendrix, who did not run for reelection.
Demorest recorded a 12.23% voter turnout, with 123 of the city’s 1,006 registered voters casting ballots.
According to Jimmy Davis, it took him a moment to comprehend that he had won. “It took me a few minutes to wrap my head around it,” he told Now Habersham. “I just feel like I’m so blessed to have the opportunity to work with this council.”
Council member Donnie Bennett shared his thoughts about the election results. “I feel real good about it (being reelected). We got a lot of good projects going right now and it’s an exciting time to be involved in Demorest.”
Bennett shared his concerns about voter turnout as well. “I know we all kind of expected low numbers. With low numbers, it can really cause a situation to go either way. It kind of becomes any person’s game at that point.”
Town of Mount Airy
Mount Airy voters are returning three of their council members to office. Incumbents Adam Tullis, Christopher Green, and Mike McCoy will keep their at-large seats. They were the top three vote-getters in a four-person race.
Tullis and Green both received 42 votes (27% each), while Green claimed 41 votes (27%). Lerlene Dodd trailed McCoy by nine votes and garnered 19% of the vote.
Voter turnout in Mount Airy was 7.82%, with 63 ballots cast out of a possible 806.
Council member Adam Tullis shared his reaction to the election results. “I am happy with them.” He shared his thoughts about voter turnout in Mt Airy. “I thought it was a decent turnout for a local election. Eight percent is never good but that’s what you expect for a local election really.”
Town of Tallulah Falls
Mike Early won another term as mayor of Tallulah Falls, soundly defeating his two challengers, Dan Hayes and Paul Marstellar. Early won with 70% of the vote, or 51 votes. Hayes received 18 votes (25%) and Marstellar 4 (5%).
Tallulah Falls voters also reelected Craig Weatherly to the town council but ousted incumbent mayor pro tem Joey Fountain. They were in a three-person race for two at-large seats.
Weatherly received 54 votes (40%) and Franklin 51 (38%). Fountain received 30 votes, coming in third with 22% of the vote.
Tallulah Falls voters passed two alcohol referendums in Tuesday’s election. They approved Sunday package sales and Sunday sales by the drink. Both referendums garnered the exact same number of votes for and against. The totals were 54 in favor (74%) and 19 opposed (26%).
Of the town’s 168 registered voters, 73 cast ballots in Tuesday’s election.
Jimmy Franklin shared his reaction about the election in Tallulah Falls. “I am very grateful to the citizens of Tallulah Falls for putting their trust in me. I’m honored that they did so.”
Franklin tells Now Habersham that he was impressed with voter turnout in Tallulah Falls. “I am very impressed at the percentage of voters who turned out to vote. That speaks highly of our folks.”
