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Candidates, from left, Dan Brown, Lance Bagley and Johnny Ariemma were the big Election Night winners in Dahlonega on Tuesday evening.
Note: the following article has been revised to include corrected voter participation numbers.
Lance Bagley and Dan Brown were the big winners Tuesday night after City residents went to the polls on Election Day with two contested Council seats up for grabs. The totals from the evening, which do not include absentee and provisional ballots, showed current council member Bagley cruising to victory in his race for Post 6 with 72 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, Brown, a political newcomer, came away the winner in the three-way race for Post 5, with 66 percent of the vote. Finally, Councilman Johnny Ariemma secured an easy victory in his unopposed race for Post 4.
Overall turnout for the Municipal General Election totaled approximately 23.89% percent, with 638 of the city’s 2,671 active registered voters participating.
In the elections office on Short Street, all of the candidates and their friends and family gathered shortly after the polls closed at 7:00 p.m. to await the outcome.
The early voting totals came in first, about 8:45 p.m. Election officials posted a machine-printed tally on the front door of the election office first, and then projected a chart of the totals for those gathered inside.
Advance voting percentages ended up closely mirroring the final outcome, with Bagley receiving 74 percent and Brown receiving 66 percent of the early vote.
When asked afterwards for her assessment of the election, Lumpkin County Elections Supervisor Robin McIntosh said there were no issues to report.
“It went very smoothly,” McIntosh told The Nugget. “Of course, we’d always like to see a bigger turnout.”
In the Post 6 race, Bagley garnered 418 votes while his opponent Tom Gordineer received 159 votes, or 28 percent.
The Nugget caught up with Bagley after his big win and asked how it felt to return to the Council at a new post.
“First, I would thank Tom [Gordineer] and the other people who ran for keeping it a positive campaign. I think that’s first. Secondly, I look forward to working for the City, to continue to make it a great place to live,” Bagley said.
In the Post 5 contest, Brown notched 402 votes, with competitors Melanie Dunlap receiving 147 votes (24 percent) and James T. Guy garnering 63 votes (10 percent).
Councilman-elect Brown expressed his eagerness to get started.
“I’m excited about the prospect of joining the Council, and excited about the future of Dahlonega. And I look forward to getting to work, for sure.”
As the only candidate on the ballot for Post 4, Councilman Ariemma received 453 votes (100 percent).