Advanced votes lead Vance to

In a close vote, Public Safety Director Ken Vance defeated GC&SU student Zach Johnson to retain his seat on the City Council. Vance, who has served on the council for several consecutive terms, overcame a late deficit to beat Johnson 153 to 145.

With only an eight vote separation between Vance and Johnson, a recount is expected soon.

“We are definitely going to have a recount because it is just too close to let go,” Johnson said.

For Vance’s part, he is just thankful to be back in office.

“I am honored to still be serving District 4, the university, the town and the historic district for the next four years,” Vance said in transcribed statement.

As late as 9 p.m., Johnson held a slim lead of 108 votes to Vance’s106. In the end though, the advanced votes and absentee ballots pushed Vance ahead. Of the 69 advanced voters, 40 voted for Vance while 29 voted for Johnson. Absentee ballots totaled 15 with Vance receiving seven and Johnson eight.

“Win or lose, I think that this is a huge, huge victory and a huge step forward for the students,” Johnson said.

“The voter turnout can always be better, but the fact that there was an eight vote difference, where we stand right now, has really put the students on the map in terms of being a power player in this town. It brought us forward and made people realize that you can’t take these kids for granted.”

Johnson’s campaign focused almost entirely on recruiting the student vote while Vance aimed more for the established, long-term residence. One of Johnson’s most unique campaigning tools was the use of the Facebook Web site. On the site, Johnson created group called “I back Zach for City Council.” From the site, Johnson’s campaign sent out almost daily updates to encourage students to attend sponsored meetings and free events. The group currently has 216 GC&SU members.

“These kids are a huge part of this town and I think that everyone from the new councilmen to the old councilmen to the new mayor realize that,” Johnson said. “I think that this really was a positive thing for students and that this really opened the door for any student in the future who wants to get involved in local politics or any kind of politics. I think this gave the students a lot of validity and showed that we are a group that deserves to be taken seriously.”

Meghan Scanlon, sociology major, does not see Vance’s victory as a surprise.

“I wonder if he was really expecting more students to vote,” Scanlon said. “I don’t know if students really care that much about what is going on in Baldwin County.”

Both campaigns have been marred by controversy including accusations of misconduct. Johnson’s campaign manger JD Easley charged Vance of falsely warning students that if they were to register to vote in Baldwin County, they would risk losing financial aid and insurance privileges. Vance denied the claim calling them “absurd.”

No matter the final outcome, Johnson wanted to show appreciation to students who supported his campaign.

“I just want to thank every student on this campus that helped me and gave me word of mouth,” Johnson said. “I just really, really appreciate and thank them for all the help and support that they gave me.”

Milledgeville also voted in a new mayor on Tuesday. Richard Bentley defeated incumbent Floyd Griffin by 616 votes. The final tally had Bentley with 1818 votes and Griffin with 1202 votes.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 11 2005. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry