Voters put in new mayor in Bismarck

There were close races in most municipal races and crowds had to wait until the very end to see most winners declared Tuesday night

Bismarck

Incumbent Bismarck Mayor Sioux Young failed in her bid to win her first election as mayor Tuesday night, losing to former mayor Dennis Mayberry 155 to 76. While serving as Ward 1 alderman, Young was appointed mayor following last April’s sudden resignation of mayor Cindy Layton.

The real battle in the mayoral election; however, was between Mayberry and first-time candidate Seth Radford. Mayberry squeaked to victory with only two more votes to Radford’s 153.

Reacting to his razor-thin election victory, Mayberry said, “I’m glad it was close between Seth and me. Seth is a good friend of mine and I’m glad he did well. I want to thank both Seth and Sioux for running a good campaign. Also, thanks to the voters who elected me as mayor.”

In the Ward 1 alderman race, incumbent Aaron Radford won handily over opponent John Jellinek, 164-54.

In the Ward 2 alderman race, incumbent Clarence King lost to Charles Marcee 65-88.

Running unopposed was City Collector Toba Jane Welch who garnered 344 votes.

Bonne Terre

Ron Elders was re-elected to the Bonne Terre City Council.

Elders regained his Ward 2 seat with 24 votes (62 percent) while his opponent Daniel House had 14 votes (36 percent). There was one write-in vote.

Alicia Whitwell was elected to Ward 4, receiving 24 votes while her opponent, Jason Keller, received 12 votes.

Whitwell is looking forward to serving the community and working with the council. She thanked voters.

“It should be a new adventure, that’s for sure,” she said.

Ed Hottle, who had been on the council, ran unopposed for mayor, receiving 116 votes. There were 18 write-in votes.

Desloge

In the only contested Desloge city election of the night, incumbent Ward 3 Alderman Alvin Sutton won re-election with a 58-44 victory over his opponent, former city worker Everette J. Rawson Jr.

During the campaign, Sutton said, if re-elected, he intended to continue placing a focus on the best interest of city residents and the continued growth and development of Desloge.

In the uncontested Ward 1 alderman race, incumbent Mara Westbrooks received 66 votes.

In the uncontested Ward 2 alderman race, incumbent J.D. Hodge garnered a total of 70 votes.

Iron Mountain Lake

Iron Mountain Lake’s acting mayor, Brian Goodman, won election Tuesday night to the post he took over in February after the resignation of mayor Eugene Henson who cited health issues as the reason behind his decision. Goodman received 48 votes for the win, while opponent Phil Fox finished close behind with 43 votes. Henson’s name appeared on the ballot despite his resignation. He received a total of 3 votes.

Goodman who, along with the rest of the city council, has been dealing for the past two months with serious issues involving the city’s waste water treatment plant, said during the campaign he believed Iron Mountain Lake was now headed in the right direction under his leadership.

In the Ward 1 councilperson  race, incumbent Daniel Edwards won over opponent Mark Wynes with a vote of 19-12.

In the uncontested Ward 2 councilperson race, Brenda Goodman – wife of the new mayor – received 22 votes.

Also uncontested was the race for Ward 3 councilperson. Dustin Steinc received a total of 22 votes

No candidate ran for a 1-year unexpired term as Ward 3 councilperson.

Leadwood

Leadwood voters on Tuesday returned the existing members to the board of aldermen with a healthy margin in each race.

“I think this shows that we are on right track,” said Mayor Dennis Parks, who won his bid for re-election. “We might not have everything done yet, but we are heading in the right direction. We will work together to go forward.”

Parks received 134 votes to 60 for Jeffrey Mahurin for the one-year mayoral term. Parks had been appointed to finish out the first year of former Mayor John Hartley after Hartley resigned in November. He will now finish the second year of Hartley’s term.

Two aldermen switched places in their successful bids for re-election to the board. Anna Woods beat Randy Beckett, 43 to 24, for the two-year term in Ward 1. Ken Meinershagen currently holds that seat, but ran successfully for Woods’ seat, a one-year term in Ward 1. Meinershagen received 43 votes to 25 for Kevin Goforth.

Ward 2 Alderman Mark Kelly and City Clerk Sarah Moyers were unopposed in their successful bids for re-election.

Winners will take their newly elected seats at the April 23 meeting.

Park Hills

During Tuesday’s election, Park Hills voters re-elected three incumbents to the city council and chose a new councilman by a close vote.

Sara (Pullen) Cruse received 21 votes in Ward 2, while incumbent David Edgar received 20 votes. Gabriel Barlow received 5 votes.

Pullen, 29, said she is looking forward to bringing a new perspective to existing issues and new ones the council could face.

“I’m really excited and a little bit shocked by the numbers – one vote difference,” she said. “I’m thankful to everyone who turned out to vote and especially to the 21 who voted for me.

“I’m ready to get started.”

A graduate of Central High School, Mineral Area College and the University of Phoenix, Cruse is director of social services and marketing at Fountainbleau Nursing Center in Festus.

Cruse said she thinks the biggest issue facing the city is the lack of business growth. She plans to work to build consensus and common ground to improve the community,

Ward 1 incumbent Jeff Cunningham will return to his seat after getting 31 votes to 13 for challenger Matthew Rector. Incumbent Charlotte House won in Ward 3 by two votes, beating challenger Jim LaPlant 46 to 42.

Ward 4 incumbent Charles Politte was unopposed in his bid for reelection.