By Sarrah Peters
News Editor
Gadsden City Council and Mayoral elections were held on Tuesday, Aug. 26.
While these results are not final, due to provisional ballots, they are close to the final figures.
Mayor Sherman Guyton was re-elected for his fourth term. The other candidates were J. Holland, Mitchell James, and Michael Shell. Guyton received the majority with 56 percent, or 3,466, of the votes.
“When I ran the first time, I really never thought I would be here three terms,” said Guyton. “We were in such bad financial shape, that it has taken a couple of terms to get everything in a positive situation. We have some money now, we paid some debt down, and we have some programs in place. I was encouraged by everyone to run again, and I thought, well I don’t want to walk off and leave it unfinished.”
Cynthia L. Toles won the election for District 1 council member. Billy J. Harris is the current District 1 council member that ran against her. Toles won with 57 percent, or 542, of votes in her district.
In District 2, Devorick Williams was re-elected for his second term. The opposing candidate was Warren Alexander Dates. Williams received 66 percent, or 439, of the votes.
“I am very excited, though I am glad it [the election] is over,” said Williams, about his re-election. “It’s a stressful process. It is always humbling. Folks really came out to support me.”
Thomas Earl Worthy won the District 3 council spot. Robert Avery, the current councilmember, ran against him. Worthy won with 55%, or 452, of votes.
Robert Echols won District 4’s seat with 63%, or 817, of the votes. He has been on the city council since 1986. Mike Goodson and Luther D. Abel ran against him.
In District 5, both Billy F. Billingsworth, Sr. and current councilmember Bill C. Stewart received 41% of the votes. Billingsworth got 373 votes, while Stewart got 366. Because of the closeness of the votes, there will be a runoff election between the two. Stewart has been in office since 1998. The third candidate was Gloria Allenstein.
Johnny Cannon was re-elected for his third term as District 6 councilmember. Cannon won with 67%, or 410, of the votes. His opponent was Alfred Oyler.
Ben Reed, council president and current District 7 councilmember, was re-elected for his fifth term. He won with 54%, or 770 of his district’s votes. Gary Ashley and Chris Robinson were the other candidates.
Voter turnout was low, following the pattern of declining voter participation.
“I was encouraged that their were so many qualified candidates,” said Craig Ford. “However, I felt the turnout was lower than expected. I think encouraging people to use their right to vote is important, regardless of who they vote for.”