Clarkesville businessman Ty Akins and local educator Jason Hogan will be in a runoff for the District 5 Habersham County Commission seat. Akins received 48% of the vote in a four-person race for commission. Hogan took 24% of the vote, ahead of Mike Adams and Locke Arnold.
The winner of the runoff will succeed Tim Stamey who resigned from the commission earlier this year for health reasons.
RELATED: Runoff election for Habersham commission set for Nov. 30
After one year on the job, Jim Welborn has been ousted from the Demorest City Council. The preacher turned politician was defeated in Tuesday night’s city election by Roy Andrew Ferguson and fellow incumbent Shawn Allen. The three were vying for two at-large seats.
“I hope that my reelection means that people have confidence that I will always try to apply my best judgment for their interests,” Allen says. “And work with my fellow councilmembers and our city leaders and employees for the next four years.”
Former city council member Jerry Harkness will return to the Demorest City Council, but this time as mayor. Harkness defeated former Demorest Fire Chief Ken Ranalli for the job with 62% of the vote. Harkness will succeed outgoing mayor Rick Austin.
Ranalli tells Now Habersham that he is disappointed he will not get to learn more about the city and local government as the Mayor of Demorest, and had hoped to further serve the city in a new capacity, but is grateful for everything he learned over the course of his campaign. He says he’s open to running again in the future.
In the town of Alto, the liquor referendum and the Alto Post 1 election both passed by razor-thin margins. Turner Griffith won the race against incumbent Carolyn Cabe by 1 vote in the Alto Post 1 election. The town’s liquor referendum passed, but just by 2 votes.
Baldwin voters approved package liquor sales by a 2 to 1 margin. Clarkesville and Cornelia’s liquor referendums also passed by wide margins.
Angelia Kiker defeated Lindsay Sloan to claim the Post 1 Clarkesville City Council seat. And incumbent Ward 3 Cornelia Commissioner Don Bagwell held onto his seat by a mere 6-vote margin over challenger John Ballard.
In Mt. Airy, incumbent Patrick Ledford will return to the city council joined by Ken Moore. They were the two top vote-getters in a three-person race for two at-large council seats. And in Tallulah Falls, Tom Tilley won reelection and Scott Augustine won a seat on the city council.
With all precincts reporting and some provisional ballots left to count, here are the unofficial and incomplete municipal and special election results for Habersham County:
Town of Alto
Council Post 1:
Carolyn Cabe (Incumbent): 45% 14
Turner Griffith: 48% 15
Write-In: 6% 2
Council Post 3:
Allen Fox (Incumbent): 95% 21
Write-In: 5% 1
Council Post 5:
P.J. Huggins (Incumbent): 95% 20
Write-In: 5% 1
Liquor Referendum
Shall the issuance of licenses for the package sale of distilled spirits be approved?
Yes: 54% 14
No: 46% 12
City of Baldwin
All Baldwin incumbents were unopposed and automatically reelected
Mayor:
Joe Elam (Incumbent): —
Council Post 4:
Maarten Venter (Incumbent): —
Council Post 5:
Alice Lindsay Venter (Incumbent): —
Liquor Referendum
Shall the issuance of licenses for the package sale of distilled spirits be approved?
Yes: 70% 50
No: 30% 21
City of Clarkesville
Mayor:
Barrie C. Aycock (Incumbent): 95% 179
Write-In: 5% 10
Council Post 1:
Angelia S. Kiker: 58% 124
Lindsay Claire Sloan: 41% 88
Write-In: 4% 1
Council Post 4:
Franklin Brown (Incumbent): 99% 179
Write-In: 1% 2
Council Post 5:
Steven Ward (Incumbent): 100% 177
Liquor Referendum
Shall the issuance of licenses for the package sale of distilled spirits be approved?
Yes: 70% 153
No: 30% 66
City of Cornelia
Commission Ward 2:
Janice Griggs (Incumbent): 97% 30
Write-In: 3% 1
Commission Ward 3:
Don Bagwell (Incumbent): 59% 19
John Ballard: 41% 13
Liquor Referendum
Shall the issuance of licenses for the package sale of distilled spirits be approved?
Yes: 73% 140
No: 27% 51
City of Demorest
Mayor:
Jerry Harkness: 62% 127
Kenneth Ranalli: 38% 77
Write-In: 5% 1
Council Member (2 at-large seats):
Shawn Allen (Incumbent): 35% 135
Lawrence G. Bridges: 10% 39 *withdrew from the race prior to election day
Roy Andrew Ferguson: 27% 104
Jim Welborn (Incumbent): 25% 97
Write-In: 2% 6
Tallulah Falls
Council Member (2 at-large seats)
Scott Augustine: 35% 42
Robert Keeler: 20% 24
Tom Tilley (Incumbent): 45% 53
Town of Mount Airy
Mayor:
Ray McAllister: 97% 84
Write-In: 3% 3
Council Member (2 at-large seats):
Paula Kimbrell: 25% 42
Patrick Ledford (Incumbent): 42% 71
Ken Moore: 32% 54
Write-In: 1% 3
Habersham County Commission District 5:
Mike Adams: 14% 386
Ty Akins: 48% 1,294
Locke Arnold: 13% 354
Jason Eric Hogan: 24% 636
Write-In: 5
