Run-off Set for November 30 in Hartwell City Council Race

Daniel Brown covered the Hartwell and Royston municipal races

In Hartwell, all three incumbents are winners and one race is headed to a runoff.

In Tuesday night’s citywide election, voters gave incumbent mayor Brandon Johnson another term.  He defeated challenger Jadrickus Patterson 587 votes to 205.

In Tray Hick’s race for city council, the incumbent held off challenger R.C. Oglesby with a count of 469 votes to Oglesby’s 282.

And voters gave the nod to incumbent city councilman Patrick Guarnella.  He will serve a second term defeating challengers Richard Sheller and Robert Bobby Compton.  Guarnella received 404 votes, Sheller 301, and Compton 74.

There was no winner in the race to succeed outgoing councilman Arthur Craft.  Four candidates vied for his seat on the city council.

Dan Leard was the top vote-getter with 378, Cynthia Wilkins received 223, Bonnie Clark 109, and Wintravious Tra Hill, 76 votes.

Since Georgia law requires the winner to get 50% of the vote plus 1, Dan Leard and Cynthia Wilkins will be in a runoff.  Leard received 48.10% of the vote, Wilkins 28.40% of the vote.  They will face each other on Tuesday, November 30^th.

In Royston, incumbent city councilman Kenneth Roach fought off challenger Fletcher Hodges in the Post 1 race.  Roach received 142 votes to Hodges 128 votes.

In the Post 2 race to succeed incoming Mayor Keith Turman, former Royston City Councilman Jason Phillips defeated Bob Hollingsworth by a vote count of 168 to 93.

And in the Post 5 race to succeed retiring councilman Larry Bowen, David Pressley won big over challengers Wesley Fricks and Daryl Ayers.  Pressley got 163 votes, Fricks 74 votes, and Ayers 29 votes.