Some Smaller Jasper County Communities Vote In New City Leaders and Have Write-In Ties

A number of communities around Jasper County had contested City and School Elections on the Ballot yesterday. In Prairie City, Councilman John Lee was unsuccessful in his attempt at becoming mayor. Lee lost to Incumbent Chad Alleger. Alleger got 62-percent of the vote to win re-election 285 votes to 172. There was also a contested City Council race in Prairie City as three candidates sought two seats. Incumbent Ann McDonald got the most votes, 318. Debbie Townsend was also elected with 277 votes. Brent Berger lost with 190 votes. In Monroe incumbent City Councilman Nathaniel Bradbury lost his seat. Newcomers Sean Wilson and Stacie McCoy were elected with 238 and 195 votes respectively. Bradbury received 129 votes. Baxter voters also chose a new council member. Incumbent Jason Robinson was re-elected with 144 votes. Tootie Samson was elected to incumbent Kelly Milligan’s seat with 113 votes to Milligan’s 86. In Mingo…incumbent Rhonda Milligan and two challengers ran for two seats. Kristen Crozier was the top vote-getter with 61 while Milligan was re-elected with 47. Stacy Lane’s name was on 35 ballots. In Kellogg write-in votes were needed to select two City Council members. The County Auditor’s Office says David Eilander and Chad Machin were both elected with 5 write-in votes each. In Sully there’s a write-in tie at 39 votes for Mayor between Brent Vandermolen and Gordon Yarrington, while Jeff Burkett received the most write-in votes at 44 for a City Council seat. In Oakland Acres Lisa Griffith was the top write-in for Mayor with 6 votes, while Terry Morrison and Kurt Strawser appeared tied for one City Council position with 3 write-in votes each. In Valeria Nicole Oleson’s 6 write-in votes were the most for a City Council seat. Mindy McCarthy’s 99 write-ins were tops for a seat on the PCM School Board for District Two. Write-in ties could be broken if one of the individuals is not interested in accepting the position, or a canvass of the election changes the results. If not, the winner will be chosen by luck of the draw.