There were few surprises in Tuesday’s general election, with all but one of Lowndes County’s incumbent supervisors retaining their seats.
One of the most closely watched match-ups, and one of the most racially charged campaigns, ended with Incumbent Democrat Leroy Brooks holding on for his eighth term as District 5 supervisor after Independent Roger Larsen failed to garner enough black support to dislodge him.
Brooks carried with 1,731 votes (58.88 percent), to Larsen’s 1,207 votes (41.05 percent).
As he watched election returns at the Lowndes County Courthouse Tuesday night, Brooks said he wasn’t surprised voters cast ballots along typical demographic lines, he only regretted that it wasn’t a closer race.
“I wish I had won by one vote, so (Larsen) could wonder where he could have gotten one (more) vote from,” Brooks joked.
Referring to himself as “a consummate politician,” Brooks credited his passion for the job, and his compassion for the people, for what Larsen characterized as “a blowout victory.”
Even with the election over, Brooks was unwilling to remove his spurs in what has been a sometimes verbally heated contest between himself and Larsen, former owner of The Columbus Packet.
Instead, he focused upon the people who voted for Larsen, questioning their motives.
“Here’s a man who’s basically an atheist vagabond, and that people would vote for him — it just shows you don’t have to have any platform,” Brooks said. “… Some voted because he’s white, and some voted against me.”
Nevertheless, Brooks said he’s ready to move on and represent his constituents, even the ones who voted for his opponent.
Via phone late Tuesday night, Larsen expressed a desire to move on as well, saying he thought the race would be closer, but he failed to gain “traction” in the black community, and his first run for office will be his last.
“I can’t see anybody taking him out,” Larsen said. “I think I ran a good campaign, and I wouldn’t have done anything differently, it just didn’t work. I had name recognition, (The Packet) had a wide black readership, but that didn’t translate.”
He said being on the campaign trail, knocking on doors and meeting people, was “a pleasant experience,” but in the light of hindsight, he questioned whether people’s friendliness was just “empty cordiality.”
“The people have spoken, he got a resounding victory and he has the job for another four years — frankly, for as far in the future as I can see it,” Larsen concluded. “… It’s not time to sit around and dwell on this. It was not a close race. I got hammered. He’s beaten other people, he’s beaten me, but I’m not going to say anything bad about him. I did think it would be closer than this, but nothing surprises me.”
When Brooks returns to the Board of Supervisors table, he’ll see a room full of familiar faces.
District 1 Supervisor Harry Sanders is returning for his fourth term after receiving 2,225 votes, a 56.92 percent majority, over Democrat Willie Petty Sr., who received 964 votes (24.66 percent) and independent Joey Pounders, who received 720 votes (18.42 percent).
“It’s been a long, hard road,” Sanders said Tuesday night at the courthouse, adding that he wished he had gotten the chance to knock on more doors, but his work as a supervisor kept him busy, and juggling the role of active politician as well as candidate was difficult.
Still, it’s a role he said he enjoys after retiring at age 50 from the business world and discovering that lazy days of fishing and golf weren’t what he thought they would be. His buddies were still working, and he quickly found himself looking for something else.
“I wanted a place to hang my hat,” Sanders said. “People said I was too young to be retired.”
Also returning to the board is District 3 Supervisor John Holliman and District 4 Supervisor Jeff Smith, both of whom are entering their second terms.
Holliman, a Republican, received 2,929 votes (72.55 percent), to his challenger, independent Mike Smith, who received 1,103 votes (27.32 percent). There were five write-ins.
Smith, a Democrat, ran unopposed, receiving 2,485 votes (99.68 percent), and losing eight votes to write-in candidates.
The one new face at the table will be Republican Bill Brigham, who defeated Republican Frank Ferguson in the August primary election, capturing the District 2 Board of Supervisors seat with 59.97 percent of the vote.
Brigham ran unopposed in the general election, receiving 3,007 votes and losing nine votes to write-ins.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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