Anson County residents have elected their municipal leaders, keeping most of the incumbents seeking re-election.

The last of the unofficial election results came in at about 9:05 p.m. Nov. 3. While many towns saw candidates running unopposed, some seats were more hotly contested.

Morven voters chose Theodore Carr Jr. as mayor, promoting him from his current position as town councilman. He ousted current Mayor Houston Pratt.

Carr has served in the mayoral seat before, putting in two terms before losing one election and stepping down in the next one. Since then, he has served on the town council.

Now, he plans to make Morven a better place to live and more appealing for those looking to relocate into the county.

“I want to clean up the town,” Carr said. “There’s lots of little things we can do. One would be encouraging the residents to take a little more pride in our appearance, cleaning the streets and keeping the neighborhoods clean.”

Doing so would help raise town property value, he said. He also wants to help raise the town’s job rate and make it a good community for retirees to live in.

Wadesboro

Incumbent Mayor Bill Thacker was the only name on the ballot for his seat. He took 96.03 percent of votes (266 votes). The other 3.97 percent were from 11 write-in votes.

Incumbents John I. Ballard Jr. and Jeremy Burr both kept their council seats, with Ballard taking 44.99 percent (238) and Burr garnering 42.72 percent (226).

Mary Ann Sanders lost the race with 11.34 percent (60 votes). The other 0.95 percent of votes were from five write-ins.

Ansonville

Incumbent Mayor Joe M. Estridge Jr. was also the only name on the ballot for his seat. He took 89.29 percent of votes (50). The other 10.71 percent were from six write-ins.

Estridge was appointed mayor by the council upon previous Mayor Lyndell Ingram’s death in August.

Council member incumbents on the ballot all kept their seats. Denise Watkins Cannon took 23.20 percent of votes (58), Phyllis Watkins had 19.60 percent (49), Jesse T. Huntley had 15.60 percent (39) and Kenneth Martin had 14.80 percent (37).

Newcomer Sarah E. Burns took 18.40 percent of the votes (46), also earning a seat on the council. Twenty-one write-in votes comprised the remaining 8.40 percent.

Lilesville

Lilesville Mayor Richard Harrington kept his seat, earning 96.55 percent of votes (56). Two write-in votes made up the other 3.45 percent.

Bernice Bennett earned 19.78 percent of the votes (72), Juanita Williams had 17.58 percent (64), Frank E. McAllister and Steve Whitlock tied with 16.76 percent (61 votes each) and Jason T. Clarke had 16.48 percent (60).

Peggy B. Treadaway lost the race with 11.81 percent (43 votes). The remaining 0.82 percent was made up of three write-ins.

McFarlan

Diane Timmons won the mayoral seat as the only name on the ballot. She took 78.95 percent of votes (15). There were four write-in votes that made up the remaining 21.05 percent.

Only three candidates tried for the five available council seats. Debbie Bryant took 26.15 percent of the votes (17), Michael Foster took 16.92 percent (11) and Kim Crowley Gainey took 15.38 percent (10).

Write-in votes made up nearly half of the total council votes, with 27 write-ins making up 41.54 percent of the council votes.

Morven

Councilman Theodore Carr won incumbent Mayor Houston Pratt’s seat. Carr took the mayoral spot with 61.32 percent of votes (65), with Pratt taking 38.68 percent (41). There were no write-ins.

The two open council seats were earned by Tim Watkins with 46.06 percent of the votes (76) and James H. Cohen, Jr. with 40 percent (66).

Corinthia Lashelle Lemon lost the race with 10.91 percent (18). Five write-ins made up the remaining 3.03 percent of the council votes.

Peachland

Incumbent Mayor Richard Allen was the only name on the ballot for his position. He took 97.78 percent (44 votes). One write-in made up the other 2.22 percent.

Both candidates on the ballot for council won seats. Jeff Davis took 50 percent of the votes (42) and Laura F. Hasty took 48.81 percent (41).

One write-in vote made up the other 1.19 percent.

Polkton

Incumbent Mayor Minnie P. Staton was the only candidate running for mayor. She took 82 percent of votes (41). There were nine write-in votes that made up the other 18 percent.

There were five candidates running for the five available commissioner positions. Jimmy Hildreth earned 20 percent of the votes (42), Johnny Raye Faulk, Jr. took 19.05 percent (40), Sissy Stegall took 18.10 percent (38), Myra Thomas Dalgleish took 17.14 percent (36) and Henry Furr had 10 percent (21).

The other 15.71 percent of the votes were made up of 33 write-in votes.

Election information

Steve Adams, director of the Anson County Board of Elections, said that Election Day went smoothly and that there was a low voter turnout. Only 18.88 percent of registered voters made it to the polls.

Of the 674 ballots cast, 538 were filled out on Election Day. The remaining 136 votes were made during early voting in Wadesboro.

All election results listed are unofficial results provided by the Anson County Board of Elections.

Pratt
https://ansonrecord.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_houston-pratt.jpgPratt

Carr
https://ansonrecord.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_Theodore-Carr-Jr.-headshot.jpgCarr

Thacker
https://ansonrecord.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_Bill_Thacker_2006.jpgThacker

By Imari Scarbrough

iscarbrough@civitasmedia.com