CALEDONIA — Betty Darnell earned a victory in the mayor’s race while two incumbents led all vote-getters in the aldermen’s race in Tuesday’s municipal elections.
Darnell is the wife of Bill Darnell, who is leaving town government after 42 years as an alderman. She edged Quinn Parham, who is currently an alderman, by a margin of 161 votes to 137 after all ballots, including absentee and affidavits, were tallied.
In the aldermen’s race, where all board members are chosen at-large, the top five vote-getters among the eight candidates will be sworn into office on July 1.
One-term incumbents Tammy McCool (232 votes) and Matt Furnari (203) will be joined on the board by newcomers Robert Linn Jacobs (176), Jason Chrest (174) and Amanda Boltwood (167).
Mayor Mitch Wiggins, who was running for alderman this time, fell short of gaining a seat with 105 votes. Joey Pounders also finished with 105 votes while William Darnell, nephew of the new mayor, finished with 63 votes.
There were 303 total votes cast in the election.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.