The Shadow
Incumbents ruled the day in the Clifton Forge Town Council elections Tuesday, while Iron Gate will welcome a new mayor.
In Clifton Forge, voters returned the mayor and vice mayor to office, but a third seat on council remains undecided until later today.
According to unofficial returns, Gayle Hillert, the current vice mayor, was the top vote-getter in Tuesday’s election with 553 votes. Mayor Carl Brinkley was re-elected with 530 votes.
Longtime Alleghany County teacher and coach Bob Umstead finished third among candidates listed on the ballot. He received 381 votes.
However, the third seat remained in limbo this morning due to 457 write-in votes cast Tuesday. Diana Kling Smith joined the Brinkley-Hillert ticket two weeks ago as a write-in candidate and she may be declared the winner after votes are tabulated by the Alleghany County Electoral Board this afternoon.
Tuesday’s Clifton Forge election boiled down to a referendum on Town Manager Darlene Burcham and her $105,000 salary along with high water/sewer bills.
Opponents seeking to oust Brinkley and Hillert repeatedly argued that Burcham’s salary is too high for a town of Clifton Forge’s size. They also blamed council for high water and sewer bills, which were increased to a base rate of $96 per month three years ago.
But voters apparently didn’t buy the arguments and sided with Brinkley and Hillert, who said Burcham’s managerial skills have brought needed growth and change to the town.
Umstead led the challengers with his 381 votes followed by: Ronnie Underwood, 310; Walter Nicely, 298; Bruce Hyler, 255; and Eddie Reynolds, 214.
Hyler and Reynolds were among the most outspoken critics of council and its policies.
Iron Gate
Chuck Unroe will assume the office of Iron Gate mayor in January.
Unroe, the only candidate listed on the ballot for the office Tuesday, was elected with 90 votes, according to unofficial returns.
The incumbent, Alan Williams, had launched a write-in candidacy in the final weeks of the election campaign. Forty-four write-in votes were cast for mayor Tuesday.
In addition to the mayor race, four seats on Iron Gate Town Council were up for grabs Tuesday. One of the seats was filled through a special election.
Calvin Griffith, the only candidate listed on the ballot for the special election, received 94 votes.
He will be joined on council by Joey Crawford, Robert Daniel Sr. and Richard Erskine.
Daniel and Erskine were running as incumbents. Daniel is the current vice mayor.
According to the unofficial returns, Crawford was elected with 101 votes. Daniel received 68 votes and Erskine, 52.
Richard Unroe, a former mayor, received 56 votes. Fifty-five votes were cast for Melanie Payne-White. Don Hall received 20 votes.
Alleghany County
James M. Griffith of Westwood was elected to the Covington District seat on the Alleghany County Board of Supervisors in a special election.
Griffith will assume the seat of two-time incumbent Paige Morgan, who did not seek re-election.
Morgan was appointed to fill the seat until the special election was held. The special election was required because a write-in candidate who received the most votes in a November 2013 election failed to meet residency requirements.
Covington
Incumbents Allan Tucker and Bill Zimmerman ran unopposed for re-election to their Covington City Council seats Tuesday.
Zimmerman, the current vice mayor, was re-elected in District 1 with 157 votes.
Tucker was elected to a four-year term in District 2 with 224 votes.
