Elkins Vote Canvass
Parker’s Fifth Ward lead increases
The Inter-Mountain photos by Edgar Kelley Elkins Police Department’s Dylan Coffman helps transport the ballots from last week’s Elkins Municipal Election into the Phil Gainer Community Center Monday.
Elkins City Clerk Jessica Sutton and Fifth Ward City Councilman Dave Parker work during Monday’s vote canvassing at the Phil Gainer Community Center. After the canvass, Parker’s lead over challenger Burley Woods had increased from two votes to four.
The Inter-Mountain photos by Edgar Kelley Elkins Police Department’s Dylan Coffman helps transport the ballots from last week’s Elkins Municipal Election into the Phil Gainer Community Center Monday.
Elkins City Clerk Jessica Sutton and Fifth Ward City Councilman Dave Parker work during Monday’s vote canvassing at the Phil Gainer Community Center. After the canvass, Parker’s lead over challenger Burley Woods had increased from two votes to four.
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ELKINS -- Elkins City Council canvassed the votes Monday from last week's municipal election, and no results were changed from the preliminary election night tallies.
The top two vote-getters in the Fifth Ward City Council race were separated by just two votes on election night -- incumbent Dave Parker totaled 68 votes Tuesday, while challenger Burley Woods received 66 votes.
Fifth Ward had five provisional ballots to be looked at on Monday, enough to potentially sway the race's result. Woods received one vote out of the provisional ballots counted on Monday, but Parker received the other four votes. The results now stand at Parker with 72 votes and Woods with 67.
No recount has yet been requested in the Fifth Ward race, but the deadline to request a recount is 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, the city's external affairs specialist, Sutton Stokes, told The Inter-Mountain Monday afternoon.
Certification of the vote will occur within the next two days.
The following are the results declared at Monday's canvassing, which took place at the Phil Gainer Community Center.
In the mayor's race, Jerry A. Marco totaled 719, Karen Wilmoth garnered 169 votes, Andrew Carroll tallied 146 votes, and D.C. Talkington received 5 votes.
The proposed city charter change that would have adopted a mayor/manager form of government, and would have created a new city manager position, was defeated, with 334 votes cast in favor of the proposal, and 685 votes cast against it.
In Third Ward, incumbent Councilman Carman Metheny was unseated by challenger Clint Higgins, who received 52 votes, while Metheny tallied 38 votes.
In Fourth Ward, former Councilwoman Nanci Bross-Fregonara defeated Liz Marshall-MacVean, 143 votes to 98.
In the First Ward council race, incumbent Rob Chenoweth received 260 votes, while Phillips B. Kolsun gathered 62 votes, and Travis Norwood totaled 40.
In Second Ward, incumbent Charlie Friddle won the council race, totaling 95 votes, while challenger Carman Pennington received 76.
The two other proposed city charter changes on the ballot were approved by voters.
Elkins residents voted to increase the term of the city's mayor from two years to four years by a vote of 563 to 458.
A proposed city charter change to pledge compliance with open government laws was approved 780 to 229.