While the town of Caledonia has chosen four members of its board of aldermen, the mayor’s race and the final alderman’s position are still too close to call.
When the absentee votes were counted shortly before midnight Tuesday, incumbent Bill Lawrence held a two-vote lead over former alderman Mitch Wiggins, but the outcome won’t be known until later today, after a recount of Tuesday’s totals and consideration of eight affidavit ballots.
Lawrence, who is seeking his third term as mayor in 16 years, trailed Wiggins by eight votes after walk-in ballots were counted, but made up ground when the absentee votes were added to the totals. Lawrence earned 16 of the 24 absentee votes to turn a small deficit into an even narrower edge.
The recount and inspection of affidavits began at 9 a.m. today at Caledonia’s town hall.
Tyler Brock holds a six-vote lead over Charles “Buzzy” Vizgard for the final seat on the board of aldermen.
Caledonia’s board is made up of at-large representatives. In Tuesday’s race, nine candidates competed for the five seats on the board.
The other four spots on the board, which will include three newcomers when it convenes July 6, were settled Tuesday.
Tammy McCool led the way, picking up 249 votes, followed by incumbent Quinn Parham (179), Matt Furnari (178), incumbent Bill Darnell (163) and Brock (152).
Vizgard received 146 votes, which is within the margin of affidavits left to be considered.
McCool and Furnari will be first-time aldermen, as will either Brock or Vizgard once one of those two is declared a winner. Meanwhile, Darnell earned his 10th term, including seven in a row. Darnell was first elected to the board when he was 18.
“No, it doesn’t get old,” Darnell said. “But this is the last time.”
Darnell said he looks forward to working with the new aldermen.
“I hope I can help them,” he said. “They’re all great kids. To me, they’re kids, anyway.”
Furnari, 41, said he had no idea of what to expect and he and his family members watched as the votes were counted at the Caledonia Community Center.
“You really don’t know where you stand,” he said. “I felt good about things, because I knew I had put the work in, getting out and talking with people, shaking hands. That’s really all you can do, so I really pleased the way things turned out.”
Caledonia unofficial election results
Mayor
■ Bill Lawrence (I) – 172
■ Mitch Wiggins – 170
Aldermen (Top five vote-getters are elected)
■ Tammy McCool – 249
■ Quinn Parham (I) – 179
■ Matt Furnari – 178
■ Bill Darnell (I) – 163
■ Tyler Brock – 152
■ Buzzy Vizgard – 146
■ Matt Atkins – 142
■ Nick Jackson – 103
■ Tim Butler – 64
I – incumbent
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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