Early voting for Runoff begins Tuesday

Early voting for Runoff begins Tuesday

Voters will decide West Memphis, Edmondson, Horseshoe Lake races

By Ralph Hardin

ralphhardin @ gmail .com There are three local races still to be decided after the results on Election Night failed to produce a winner in those races.

And starting next week, voters can vote early in the General Election Runoff.

Early voting begins Tuesday, Nov. 27 and continues through Monday, Dec. 3.

All early voting will be at the Crittenden County Courthouse in Marion, from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.

There will be no voting on Saturdays.

Election Day for the Runoff will be Tuesday, Dec.

4. Polls will be open from 7:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.

The race likely to draw the most interest is the race to fill the seat being vacated by West Memphis mayor Bill Johnson. On Election Day, there were a half-dozen hopefuls vying for votes, and that field of six has been pared down to two.

Last Tuesday, West Memphis City Councilman Wayne Croom received the most votes overall, garnering 1,494 — or 27.45 percent of the vote.

Behind Croom, fellow West Memphis City Councilman Marco McClendon netted 1,312 votes — or 24.11 percent. The pair were by far the largest vote-getters of the race, with no other candidate breaking the 800 vote mark.

City Councilwoman Ramona Taylor was third with 793 votes. West Memphis Policeman Eric Johnson was fourth with 788. Quorum Court Justice Lorenzo Parker was fifth with 623 votes, and businessman Fred Leonard rounded out the field taking in 432 votes.

By virtue of their one-two finish, Croom and McClendon will face off in the Dec. 4 runoff.

West Memphis voters will not be the only ones heading to the polls again.

Two other races were left undecided after the midterms.

In Edmondson, two candidates for mayor finished in a tie in a four-candidate race. Art Gillard and Ira Ewing both received 31 votes — or 36 percent of the vote. Fellow candidates Hayward Shaw Jr.

(13 votes) and Edward Coleman (11 votes) will be culled from the ballot and voters will decide a winner between Gillard and Ewing on Dec. 4.

And in Horseshoe Lake, with no clear winner in the race for the Town Council Seat 2 position, voters will now need to choose a preference between top vote-getters Michael Carter, who received 54 votes on Election Day, and Harris Lentz, who received 49 votes. Third candidate Nora Seaton, who garnered 37 votes, will not be on the ballot next month.

The following poll sites will be open on the day of the Runoff Elections: In West Memphis:

• West Memphis High School Arena, 501 W.

Broadway

• Eugene Woods Civic Center, 228 W. Polk.

• First Baptist Church of West Memphis, 200 N.

Missouri

• 7th St. Church of Christ, 899 N. 7th St.

• Wonder Boys Club, 412 S. 25th St.

• Mt. Olive Baptist Church, 201 S. 15th St.

• Pilgrims Rest Baptist Church, 300 S. 14th St.

•Calvary Baptist Church,

See RUNOFF on Page 3

;ouncilman Wayne Croom

Councilman Marco McClendon