Runoff elections to decide council seats on north end

A pair of city council seats are up for grabs this Saturday as voters in Cleveland and Plum Grove will make their voices heard.

In Cleveland, the city council’s Position 1 race will feature Julius Buckley and Durlene Davis after neither candidate garnered over fifty percent of the vote in the Saturday, May 6 election.

The winner will take the seat of outgoing councilwoman Carloyn McWaters, who wrapped her time at Tuesday’s council meeting.

Davis led all vote-getters at the time with 217 votes to Buckley’s 168. Brent McWaters ran an unsuccessful bid with only 145 votes.

In neighboring Plum Grove, a hot race is shaping up after incumbent Deborah Ann Bell and challenger Rodney Walker tied with 32 votes a piece on election day.

Since that time, there has been quite the free for all around town, with delays in deciding how to decide the outcome of that race.

Some residents felt the costs associated with a runoff were too much for the small community and hoped to settle the race with a simple coin toss.

At the last council meeting, an effort was even made to appoint Walker, the husband of former mayor LeeAnn Penton-Walker, to the vacated Position 2 seat, which officials declared was impossible, as it was too late with early voting already underway.

Ultimately, it was upheld that voters in the tiny Liberty County town would elect a winner on Saturday.

Polls will be open from 7 am – 7 pm at the Cleveland Civic Center and the Plum Grove City Hall.

The Vindicator will have results this Saturday night, and as always, you can keep up with everything in Liberty County by subscribing at 936-336-3611 or online at thevindicator.com.