14.19% of eligible voters participated in yesterday's runoff election for City Council seats in Districts 1, 8, and 9, resulting in victories for challengers Deborah Scott, Andrae McGary, and candidate Pete Murphy. The Hamilton County Election Commission reports that 4,548 voters cast ballots in the runoff—3,030 in polling and 1,518 in absentee ballots.
HCEC Administrator Bud Knowles told the Times Free Press that Tuesday's turnout was "ridiculously low." Likewise, the March 3 municipal election had 18% turnout. In District 1, Deborah Scott won 1,172 votes. She received 409 votes from the Mountain Creek precincts, 319 from Lookout Valley, and 236 from early voting at the Election Commission site. Ms. Scott's opponent, incumbent Councilwoman Linda Bennett, received 751 votes. 87 were from North Chattanooga, 135 from Moccasin Bend, and 139 from early voting. Ms. Scott lives in Mountain Creek, and was endorsed last month by Lookout Valley's Joe Graham. Ms. Bennett resides in North Chattanooga. In District 8, Andrae McGary won a landslide victory over longtime Councilman Leamon Pierce, 903-375, largely due to early voting and a strong, online organization. Mr. McGary won every precinct in the district except the Nursing Home vote (17-9 in Mr. Pierce's favor). In early voting, Mr. McGary accrued 402 votes to Mr. Pierce's 146. Mr. McGary was endorsed by candidate Dennis Clark, former mayoral candidate Rob Healy, and SETPAC. The key attribute of the McGary campaign, however, is the online organization he created at the race's onset. Mr. McGary and his supporters have been active on the web, Twitter, and Facebook since January. The social media edge would not have made as much of an impact without the socioeconomic changes in District 8 during the last four years, as well as the rise of technology as a mobilizing force in the political arena. In District 9, Pete Murphy bested J.T. McDaniel, 782-547, despite several prominent community leaders backing the latter after the March 3 election. Mr. Murphy won 284 votes in Missionary Ridge, 68 in Highland Park, and 210 from early voting. Mr. McDaniel polled better in Bushtown (88 votes), Eastdale (95), and Glenwood (92), but those results were not enough to counter Mr. Murphy's wide margins from Missionary Ridge and early voting. Following the March 3 contest, the District 9 election took on a racial slant. Mr. McDaniel was endorsed by former candidates Quenston Coleman, Thomas Mott, and Jackie Thomas. During the announcement, Mr. Mott cited race as one of the reasons he was backing Mr. McDaniel. In addition, James R. Mapp, a longtime civil rights activist in Chattanooga, wrote a letter to the editor of the Times Free Press, urging District 9 residents to vote for Mr. McDaniel:
Should this under-represented district be lost with blacks still constituting some 43 percent of the city population? It will leave only two of the nine seats, or 22 percent. Just as in 1909, the next election could with gerrymandering wipe out all district council representation by blacks. A vote for J.T. McDaniel is needed.
District 9 is a minority-majority district. Mr. Murphy is white and lives on Missionary Ridge. Ms. Scott, Mr. McGary, and Mr. Murphy will be sworn in as Council members on Monday, March 20, along with winners from the March 3 election: Sally Robinson, Pam Ladd, Jack Benson, Russel Gilbert, Sr., Carol Berz, and Manny Rico along with Ron Littlefield, who won re-election as mayor. The ceremony will take place at the Tivoli Theater at 10:00 a.m. The next day, Tuesday, April 21, the new Chattanooga City Council selects officers. The Hamilton County Election Commission certifies results from yesterday's election on April 27. Source: HCEC Precinct by Precinct Results
David Morton
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