CAMDEN — By the Camden News staff
Despite there being three people in the race for mayor of Camden, unofficial results of the election show that first-time mayoral candidate Julian Lott was able to garner enough votes during Tuesday’s General Election to decisively win the position.
No run-off for the position of mayor is needed as Lott defeated incumbent Mayor Marie Trisollini and candidate David Chilcote.
The numbers in this race were:
• Lott = 1,680 with 51.64 percent.
• Chilcote = 1,301 with 39.99 percent.
• Trisollini = 272 with 8.36 percent.
Before reading the final totals after the votes from all polling places had been recorded, Ouachita County Clerk Britt Williford stated the results are deemed “unofficial” because military oversees ballots have to be received and counted, but that he didn’t think those votes “would make any difference one way or the other in any race.”
“We have to wait 10 days to certify the election due to oversees military ballots,” Williford explained. “As long as they are postmarked today and they get in here before the 10 days are up, they will definitely be counted.”
He added that the total votes cast were 7.427 which, Williford added, was actually lower than he thought they’d be. He stated that during the 2016 presidential election, there were 10,000 county-wide votes cast.
Williford also took the time to thank voters for their patience as the county change over to using new voting machines and designated the Charles O. Ross Center as a central voting center. Also, voters throughout the county were able to vote at any polling place in Ouachita County this year instead of being assigned to a specific polling place.
He also expressed his gratitude and appreciation for his staff for their patience in “the new way of doing this.” Williford shared that the staff did a “wonderful job and worked tirelessly” during the voting period, especially during early voting when more than 4,500 residents cast their votes.
The Camden News spoke with Lott this morning to get his reaction to his win. He said the win “feels great” and that is “glad that the community came together and was willing to give me a chance at it.”
Lott said there were “people who said that divisive things. They told us that blacks would not vote, told us that it would have to be a run-off, and none of those things were true. I was encouraged to buy radio spots for one demographic, and everything that people told us to do that leaned toward one way, we didn’t do it, and it worked out.”
“I am grateful that I did not take their advice,” Lott said with a laugh. “There were people who were trying to make me a ‘black mayor,’ but I’m glad I did not take their advice. I am grateful that I did not take the advice of anything that was divisive or that singled out any group of people.”
He also shared that the next big thing that he wants to do is a “community meet-and-greet” and “invite the citizens of Camden to get their conversations together so that we can sit down and actually start coming up with answers to some of the challenges in the community.”
Lott said he wants residents to write down the issues they want addressed. He stated that he then wants to have a meeting - hopefully in December before he takes office - so that he can sit down with the residents who want to participate so that he can talk to “every single person at one time so that we can hear them and hold us accountable for giving answers and solutions to some of those challenges.”
Other races in this area yielded the following results:
District 5 Rep.
David Fielding = 1, 973, 63.06 percent.
Wade Andrews = 1,156, 36.94 percent.
Bearden Alderman
Ward 1, Position 1
• Gregory D. Wood = 93, 35.77 percent.
• Mitchell Pate = 167, 64.23.
Bearden Alderman
Ward 1, Position 2
• Bobby Gene Steelman = 118, 46.46 percent.
• Sherry “Shay” Hiller = 136, 53.54 percent.
Bearden Alderman,
Ward 2, Position 1
• Earl Leon Coston = 94, 36.58 percent.
• Melvia Buckley = 163, 63.42 percent.
Bearden Alderman
Ward 2, Position 2
• Ronnie D. Quarles = 91, 35.14 percent.
• Phillip Lambert = 168, 64.86 percent.
Camden Alderman
Ward 1, Position 1
• Gene Morton = 449, 46.24 percent.
• James Bell = 522, 53.76 percent.
Stephens Ward 2,
Position 1
• Kevin Hollis = 164, 68.05 percent.
• Justin Clark = 77, 31.95 percent.
Stephens Ward 2
Position 2
• Terry Max Cox = 128, 54.01 percent.
• Rae Fawver = 109, 45.99 percent.
Bearden School Millage
• For = 337, 61.95 percent.
• Against = 207, 38.05 percent.
Harmony Grove
School Millage
• For = 430, 47.20 percent.
• Against = 481, 52.80 percent.
East Camden
Annexation
• For = 158, 84.04 percent.
• Against = 30, 15.96 percent.
State races
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette is reporting that Arkansas experienced another red wave election Tuesday, with Republicans winning all four of the state’s congressional races and Asa Hutchinson winning a re-election bid.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday handily won re-election to a second four-year term.
The Republican governor defeated Democratic candidate Jared Henderson of Little Rock and Libertarian Mark West of Batesville.
Republican nominees for the state’s other six constitutional offices easily defeated their rivals as well Tuesday.
With 2,397 of 2,607 precincts reporting, incomplete, unofficial returns in the gubernatorial general election showed:
• Hutchinson 563,474
• Henderson 275,933
• West 24,990
Hutchinson said in an interview that he won re-election because Arkansas is in a good position with low unemployment and growth in wages and jobs. And, he said, he kept the promises he made in his successful 2014 campaign for governor.
He said he made clear that his agenda for his second four-year term would include raising teacher pay, transforming state government, cutting state income taxes and creating a long-range highway plan.
“We campaigned hard and worked hard across the state,” Hutchinson said.
He noted that he’s run in tough races in the past. Some of those he lost.
“I’m very humbled and very glad to have this opportunity to serve the people of Arkansas for another four years,” the governor said.
Two years after failing to field candidates in the 1st, 3rd and 4th districts, Democrats competed for every seat. But in each contest, well-funded incumbents defeated their challengers.
In the 3rd District, U.S. Rep. Steve Womack of Rogers won a fifth term, besting Democrat Josh Mahony of Fayetteville and Libertarian Michael Kalagias of Rogers.
With 470 out of 500 precincts reporting, unofficial returns were:
• Womack 146,953
• Mahony 74,056
• Kalagias 5,823
In the 1st District, voters favored U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford of Jonesboro for a fifth term over Democrat Chintan Desai of Helena-West Helena and Libertarian Elvis Presley of Star City.
With 695 out of 771 precincts reporting, unofficial returns were:
• Crawford 131,438
• Desai 55,050
• Presley 4,314
In the 4th District, U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman of Hot Springs beat Democrat Hayden Shamel of Hot Springs and Libertarian Tom Canada of Scranton in his quest for a third term on Capitol Hill.
With 869 out of 946 precincts reporting, unofficial returns were:
• Westerman 130,260
• Shamel 61,578
• Canada 3,739
The closest race was in central Arkansas’ 2nd District. Republican U.S. Rep. French Hill, 61, a former Little Rock banker, won against Democratic state Rep. Clarke Tucker and Libertarian Joe Swafford.
Of the state’s four districts, none have been more reliably Republican than the 3rd District, which includes Fort Smith and Northwest Arkansas’ major cities.
Democrats last won there in 1964.
Womack, 61, is chairman of the House Budget Committee and a former Rogers mayor. Before entering politics, he served as station manager at his father’s radio station, KURM in Rogers, and as executive officer of the University of Arkansas’ Army ROTC program. He also served in the Arkansas Army National Guard, retiring after three decades with the rank of colonel.
In his four previous races, Womack had never received less than 72 percent of the vote in a general election.
Tuesday’s vote was “more than I could’ve hoped for,” Womack said.
“People are doing better, the economy’s doing well, there’s plenty of jobs, people are keeping more of their money, we’ve gotten after regulations, we’ve strengthened national security [and] we’ve got a couple of guys on the Supreme Court that put the Constitution in real good hands,” he added.
Womack said he is committed to the people of Northwest Arkansas.
“I work my district pretty hard. I have a constituent service program that is second to none. I show up for work and I represent my district with the honor and integrity that they deserve,” he added.
Womack’s colleagues in the state congressional delegation also had good showings.
In the 1st District, which encompasses northeastern Arkansas and a string of counties along the Mississippi River, Crawford dominated once again.
The former saddle bronc rider, rodeo announcer and agriculture news broadcaster is the first and only Republican since the 1870s to carry what was once the state’s most reliably Democratic seat.
A member of the House Agriculture Committee, Crawford, 52, represents the top rice-growing district in the nation.
He was challenged by Desai, the son of immigrants and a former Teach for America corps member.
On Tuesday, Crawford portrayed the results as a strong vote of confidence.
“It’s a big honor to be re-elected and it’s a validation that we’re doing some things right and serving our constituents and that’s what we’re supposed to do,” he said.
In the 4th District, Westerman, an engineer and the only member of Congress with a graduate degree in forestry, appeared to be on the way to another term.
The former Fountain Lake School Board president and state House majority leader represents all of southwestern Arkansas, plus Pine Bluff and a slice of Northwest Arkansas.
Westerman, 50, said he’s thankful to the people who worked so hard on his behalf. “There’s no way you can win one of these races on your own,” he added.
Voters re-elected him “because of the work we’ve done and the positions we’ve taken and the trust we’ve built,” he added.
Arkansas voters on Tuesday also approved a constitutional amendment to allow the state to issue licenses for four full-fledged casinos.
Voters also approved Issue 2 on voter identification and Issue 5 on raising the state minimum wage.
Issue 4 authorizes the expansion of gambling operations at Oaklawn Racing and Gaming in Hot Springs and Southland Gaming and Racing in West Memphis. Both tracks now offer electronic games of skill under a 2005 state law.
The measure also authorizes the state to issue licenses for casinos in Jefferson and Pope counties, provided there is local support from elected officials. Issue 4 also allows the four casinos to offer sports betting.
With 2,334 of 2,607 precincts reporting, unofficial returns on Issue 4 were:
• For 453,275
• Against 384,526
Alex Gray, counsel for the Driving Arkansas Forward committee that sponsored the initiated ballot measure, said Arkansans approved the constitutional amendment because they responded to the committee’s message of wanting to keep tax dollars in the state and of creating jobs and fostering economic development.
“This is really exciting,” he said, adding that Southland plans to make a $200 million investment as a result of the ballot measure.
Jerry Cox, president of the Family Council Action Committee that opposed Issue 4, lamented that “it’s next to impossible to win” without money to fight the advertising blitz by the casino forces.
“We would have mounted an aggressive campaign if we had the money, but people didn’t step up and provide the money,” he said.
Cox said he doesn’t believe he was distracted from fighting the casino amendment by his campaign against Issue 1, which would have limited damages in certain civil lawsuits and attorneys’ contingency fees and allowed the Legislature to rewrite the state Supreme Court’s rules. Last month, the Supreme Court ordered the secretary of state not to count votes cast on Issue 1.
Voters also passed an increase in minimum wage and a voter ID amendment to the Arkansas constitution.