Slim margin propels newcomer to November ballot
Natasha Williams
Robbinsville – Every vote counts.
In a race that literally went down to the final ballot reviewed, Natasha Williams bested Andy Lynn for the third Republican slot on the November general ballot for Graham County Board of Commissioners, 697-696.
Provisional ballots almost mattered. Williams got one and Lynn got three, bringing Lynn within one vote of Williams.
Williams will join incumbents Jacob Nelms (769 votes) and Lynn Cody (713) on the general ticket, along with Democrats Scott Hooper, Jeff Millsaps and Kent Williams and Harv Bollinger, who is running unaffiliated. Three seats are up for grabs.
Dale Wiggins, who has served several terms on the board of commissioners over the years, came in fifth in the race. He was the only local incumbent who lost a re-election bid in the primaries.
A second primary would not have been held regardless of the outcome between Williams and Lynn.
In the event of a tie, a coin flip would have taken place.
Per N.C. G.S. 163-111(a)(2), a vote for three seats is not eligible for a second primary when the top three vote-getters each obtain more than 10 percent of the nod.
“If nominees for two or more offices (constituting a group) are to be selected, and there are more persons seeking nomination than there are offices, the substantial plurality shall be ascertained by dividing the total vote cast for all aspirants by the number of positions to be filled, and by multiplying the result by thirty percent (30 percent),” the statute reads. “Any excess of the sum so ascertained shall be a substantial plurality, and the aspirants who obtain a substantial plurality shall be declared the nominees.
“If more candidates obtain a substantial plurality than there are positions to be filled, those having the highest vote (equal to the number of positions to be filled) shall be declared the nominees.”
In the Graham County Board of Education race, Debra “Hank” Dinschel, a longtime school board critic, came in second, but qualified for the November ballot despite trailing incumbent Clark Carringer, 1,258 votes to 527.
Sheriff
Local voters will have another opportunity to hit the polls this summer, however.
Incumbent – and mid-term replacement – Jerry Crisp (414 votes) will appear in a second primary with Russell Moody (411). Moody filed a written request for the second primary May 24.
Crisp beat Moody in the East precinct by one vote – absentee and one-stop voting – while Moody beat Crisp in the West, Stecoah and Tapoco precincts, plus received one provisional vote.
Candidates running out of dissatisfaction over specific incumbents did poorly in the race for sheriff.
Louanne McMahan, a former deputy fired by Crisp, performed the best among protest candidates for sheriff with 200 votes. She was the top vote-getter in the Stecoah precinct.
One-stop (early) voting for the second primary will begin Thursday, July 7, with the second primary occurring Tuesday, July 26. Whichever Republican candidate prevails will appear on the general ticket in November against Brad Hoxit, who is running unaffiliated.
No Democrats filed for the Graham County sheriff’s race.