Star city re-elects all incumbents
STAR CITY — Voters re-elected all five city council members Tuesday.
Sharon Doyle led the incumbents with 89 votes, followed by Todd Gregg (72) Dominick Claudio (59), Bob Williams (52) and Emma Luzader (50).
Challengers Matt Koepke (32) and Kennedy Gilmore failed to win seats.
Mayor Herman Reid ran unopposed and received 77 votes.
Steve Blinco, unopposed in the recorder race, garnered 62 votes.
Forbes only newcomer to win in Granville
GRANVILLE — Four of five city council members won re-election Tuesday.
Incumbent John Kovalcheck was ousted and will be replaced by Patricia Forbes.
Current Mayor Patricia Lewis ran unopposed. According to the town’s website, Lewis was elected to her first term as the Mayor of The Town of Granville beginning July 1, 1991. She garnered 49 votes.
Recorder Mary Beth Renner also ran for her current seat unopposed and received 47 votes.
Council votes were as follows: David Bean, 37; Nicky Boyers, 36; Ron Clark: 36; Forbes: 34; Genevieve Calvert, 34; Kovalcheck, 27.
All currently sit on council except Forbes.
The council will meet June 17 to certify the election.
Kingwood voters go for 4-year term change
KINGWOOD — Kingwood voters passed a change in the city charter to allow city officials to be elected every four years, according to unofficial totals Tuesday.
And in Terra Alta, unofficial results showed Mayor Mark Ball narrowly losing to former Terra Alta Police Chief Robert DeLauder, who has a lawsuit pending against the town and Ball.
Those totals showed incumbent Ball with 110 votes to DeLauder’s 113. However, there are several provisional ballots that must be considered at the canvas Monday in Terra Alta.
John Burns was unopposed for Terra Alta records with 176 votes. Votes for Terra Alta Council were: Ward 1 — Jason Myers, 140, write-in Michael Fazenbaker, 26; Ward 2 — John Trembly, 129, James “Monk” Tasker, 88, Chester Fitchett Jr., 49; Ward 3 — Chad Reese, 179; Ward 4 — Chester Fitchett, 127; Ward 5 — Cecil Royce, 167.
The vote was 116 for the change at Kingwood and 16 against it. The vote also lengthens the terms of those elected to three years, to accommodate the change in voting patterns. Terms will revert to two years after that, unless council takes action.
Candidates on Kingwood’s ballot were unopposed. Unofficial returns show Mayor Jean Guillot with 99 votes; Recorder Bill Robertson, 105 votes. Council votes were: Karen Snyder Kurilko, 108; Michelle Whetsell, 105; Dick Shaffer, 104; Mike Lipscomb, 97; and Josh Fields, 90. All except Kurilko are incumbents.
Write-ins at Kingwood included 25 for former Councilman Lefty Stonebraker, Matt Kelley, three votes; Jim Lobb and Janet Szilagyi, one vote each. Former city attorney Sheila Williams got one write-in vote for mayor, and Shaffer got seven votes for mayor.
Seven Preston towns held elections Tuesday. Albright, Brandonville, Kingwood, Masontown, Newburg, Terra Alta and Tunnelton each elected a mayor, recorder and five council members.
Voter turnout appeared to be low in many towns. Only 10 people voted in Tunnelton, which has 121 registered voters.
The number of registered voters in each town, as of May 24, was: Albright, 119; Brandonville, 73; Kingwood, 1,857; Masontown, 317; Newburg, 159; Terra Alta, 862; Tunnelton, 121.
In Albright, unofficial totals showed Mayor Roger B. Titchenell retaining his seat with 15 votes to challenger Jamie Lee Russ’ 13 votes. Jane Ann Stanton, who was unopposed for recorder, got 26 votes.
On council, the votes were: Linda S. Miller, 26; Ryan K. Stevens, 23; Brian K. Snyder, 20; Lori Beth Lewis, 17; Michael W. Stahl, 15; and Robert M. McVicker, 11. The top five vote getters won a seat on council.
In Brandonville, long-time mayor Paul Webster chose not to seek re-election. Taking his spot will be Robert Hunt, who ran unopposed and received 15 votes. Incumbent Recorder Tammy Webster got 18 votes.
Seven people ran for the five seats on Brandonville Council. The results: Sarah Herring, 14; Vivian Ryan, 14; Wesley Ridenour, 13; Frances M. Sines, 11; Joseph Alan Blankenship, 11; Andrea Friend, 9; Morgan Hunt, 7.
In Masontown, incumbent Mayor Roxie Turner received 41 votes, Recorder Arthur Centofanti, 44. Votes for council were: Mike Turner, 41; Tom Shillingburg, 35; Libby DeBardi, 34; James A. Cottrell, 32; Emily Rose, 26; and Mike Mayfield Jr., 23.
Newburg Mayor Edgar Fortney ran unopposed and received 18 votes. No one ran for recorder in Newburg. On council the unofficial tallies were: Rhonda Lynn Myers, 18; James Weaver, 17; Mary Ellen Sheets, 17; and Myrtle Joyce Bolyard, 15. Amber Wolfe received eight write-in votes for council.
Incumbent Tunnelton Mayor Brian Harris received 10 votes and Recorder April Wright, 10 votes. On Tunnelton Council, Donna Zeigler got 10 votes; Walter (Lee) Moats and Rose Wright, eight each; and Christi Stephens, seven.
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