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Write-In Votes Fill Seats in Clinchport, Dungannon, Duffield, and Nickelsville

From staff reports

Abraham Lincoln once said that the ballot is stronger than the bullet. And last week’s municipal elections directly prove his point as write-in candidates in four Scott County towns were elected to the town’s governing board.

Voters in all six municipalities elected new town councils May 2 with five mayors elected to lead their towns.

In Dungannon, Phil Osborne, who didn’t officially file to run for mayor, was overwhelmingly selected by write-in votes to continue as mayor. Of the 51 votes cast in the mayoral race, Osborne claimed 31.

Write-in votes for Dungannon Mayor were received by Fred Nickels – 6, Dallas Hall – 3, Judy Blevins – 3, Kathy Asbury – 1, Kyle Begley – 1, Todd Cozart – 1, Kristi Farmer – 1, James Lane – 1, Nancy Osborne – 1, S.I. Osborne – 1 and Rick Rudder – 1.

In the Dungannon Town Council race, Melissa Hunt was elected to join the board along with incumbents, Dallas Dale Hall, Hubert Horne, Fred Nickels and Nancy Osborne. Hunt earned 40 votes, followed by Hall with 50, Nickels with 48, Horne with 41 and Osborne with 31.

Other candidates seeking a spot on the council included James McKinley Lane, who received 14 votes, Sheryl McConnell, 11 and Michael Anthony Nickels, 10. Wesley Adams received 9 write-in votes followed by Kyle Begley with 4, Roger Dockery and George Hensley, both with 2 write-in votes.

Becky Bryant was also selected by write-in votes to claim a seat on the Nickelsville Town Council. Bryant, who has served on the town’s planning commission, received 37 of the 66 write-in votes cast in the election.

Others elected in Nickelsville and their vote totals include Danny Dixon - 56, Tommy Green - 53, Roger Mustard – 50, Shirley Carey Cassell – 41 and newcomer Steve Corder – 34. Jonathan Mark Mills received 26 votes and Robert DeVries earned 21 votes.

Nickelsville candidates receiving write-in votes were Judy Flanary – 19, David Bevins – 5, Liza Mills – 3 and Roger Burke – 2.

George Isaacs, who was unopposed in his re-election bid, received 59 votes. Two write-in votes were cast for former mayor Roger Burke.

Larry Thompson edged six other write-in candidates to earn the fifth seat on the Clinchport Town Council. Thompson earned 5 of the 19 votes cast to join Ralph Qualls, Sylvia Bowen, Larry Rhoton and Cathy Akers on the council.

Qualls led all vote getters with 18. Other vote totals were Bowen – 14, Rhoton – 14 and Akers – 13.

Earning write-in votes were Daniel Darnell – 4, Terry Gilliam – 3, Vena Maness – 3, Sherry Carter – 2, Andy Meade – 1 and Randy Stacey – 1.

Billie Page returns as Clinchport Mayor as she compiled 16 votes. Terry Gilliam, Vena Maness and Randy Stacey each received one write-in vote.

For the recorder position in Clinchport, Patsy Qualls was selected by write-in votes. She garnered 12 of the 16 write-in votes cast in the election. Vena Maness, Tammy Meade, Anita Mullins and Rita Thompson each received a single write-in vote.

Judy Calton was elected by write-in votes for a position on the Duffield Town Council. Calton earned 13 of the 20 valid write-in votes. Danna Cooper received 6 write-in votes and Judy Fields had one vote.

Others winning election to the Duffield Town Council were Gerald Miller – 28, Shannon Qualls – 27, John Shupe – 27 and Buddy Dean Chesser – 26. The council will select one of its own to serve as the town’s mayor.

Mark Jenkins earned his first full term as mayor of Gate City with his 37-vote victory over challenger Doug Gillenwater. Unofficial results announced last week listed Jenkins with a 3-vote margin of victory.

For the official record, Jenkins received 273 votes compared to Gillenwater’s 236. Former Mayor Charles Dougherty Jr. received one write-in vote along with ‘Petey’ and Faye Sanders to account for the three write-in votes cast in the election.

Two former council members are returning to the Gate City Town Council. Roger Cassell and Carl Hurt were elected to join current members, Tommy Herron, Frances Perry and Rita Tipton.

Hurt led the ticket with his 361 tally. Other vote totals were Herron – 342, Tipton – 332, Perry – 326 and Cassell – 295. Steven Dougherty, the son of the former mayor (Charles Dougherty Jr.), received the exact same number of votes as Gillenwater in the mayoral race, 236 votes.

Twenty-one write-in votes were cast in the town council race in Gate City. Receiving write-in votes were retiring councilman Jack Anderson – 5, Ashley Jenkins – 3, Debbie Kindle – 2, Dinah Carter – 1, Charles Dougherty Jr. – 1, Daris Hartsock – 1,  Toni Herron – 1, Nina Herron – 1, Rudy Hetron – 1, Susan Hilmer – 1, Mark Jenkins – 1, Ronald Kindle – 1, Delta Purkey – 1 and Faye Sanders – 1.

Unopposed Grover W. Dougherty was re-elected as mayor of Weber City. He received 131 votes with write-in votes cast for Lee McMurray – 2, Janice Frazier – 1, Jimmy Mann – 1, Jesse McMurray – 1, Kermit Rhoton – 1 and former mayor Greg Smith – 1.

For the Weber City Town Council, Garland Stokes led the vote totals with 126. Others winning spots on the council were Mary Lou Roberts – 121, Don Stokes – 113, George C. Lane – 103, Carl Wayne Smith – 96 and Ronnie McMurray – 94.

Others seeking a position on the council in Weber City were Jake McMurray – 73 and Claude C. Osborne – 47. Three write-in votes were cast in the election with Chris Presley, Harold Lynn Rhoton and Greg Smith each receiving one vote.

Voting statistics for Scott County municipalities were low in last Tuesday’s elections. According to the Virginia State Board of Elections, Gate City has 1,844 registered voters followed by Weber City with 1,015. The number of voters in Nickelsville is 302 with Dungannon’s registered voters listed at 221.

Clinchport has 45 registered voters and Duffield with its recent boundary adjustment has improved to 41 registered voters.

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