Mayors Crittenden, Morrissette Re-Elected
By RICK GUNTER
Voters in Crewe and Burkeville turned out in large numbers Tuesday to say they are not ready to embrace change or at least not ready to embrace the candidates who promised to bring change during the next two years.
Two-term incumbent Crewe Mayor Henry H. Crittenden held off a stern challenge by Vice-Mayor Sally Tabb Wilkerson. The vote was 250 for Mr. Crittenden and 177 for Mrs. Wilkerson.
As the campaign developed, no great difference in issues appeared to separate Mr. Çrittenden and Mrs. Wilkerson. The incumbent ran on his record as mayor. The challenger said there needed to be better overall planning and execution of plans than had occurred in the recent past. It is clear from Tuesday’s vote that the planning issue was not enough to pull Mrs. Wilkerson to election.
She not only lost the mayoralty contest, but also will rotate off of Crewe Town Council when the new governing body is sworn in on July 1. She heads the council's finance committee.
In Burkeville, Joseph F. “Joe” Morrissette won a fourth term as mayor, handily defeating the town’s former police chief, Richard Thomas “Tom” Andrews. Of all the local candidates in either town on Tuesday, Mr. Andrews represented the most change. He promised that if elected “everything would change,” and that plea simply was too much for Burkeville and its “good-old-boy” style of governance for decades.
Mr. Andrews said his adopted hometown is “stagnant” and that there is no reason Burkeville is not growing, especially in light of it being near two major highways, U.S. 360 and U.S. 460.
Mayor Morrissette polled 142 votes to 50 for Mr. Andrews.
Mayor Morrissette and his colleagues on Burkeville Town Council probably will view the election results as an affirmation of how they govern and they will not deviate from it during the next two years.
There were no surprises in town council races in either Crewe or Burkeville.
In Crewe, first-term Council Gary Lee Simmons Jr., was the high vote-getter, polling 330 votes, the most of any candidate in the election.
Newcomer Pat Rose received 326 votes and will join council in July.
Re-elected were Rhea Houchins with 321 votes; E.B. Fisher, 315; John Spencer, 304; Bobby Duffy, 248; and Harrison Skipwith Jr., 243;
Eight candidates sought seven seats on the Crewe council. The only candidate not elected or re-elected was Louise Colette Belle, who polled 227 votes. She would have become the first African-American on Crewe Town Council and she just missed being elected.
In Burkeville, 10 candidates sought seven council seats.
Longtime Councilman Earl Moore polled the most votes with 151. He was followed by incumbent council members Sherry Mouser, 135; Pearl Bowlin, 129; Wayne Rickman, 125; Paul Bennett, 122; and Zora Bruce, 108. Newcomer Steven A. Higgins also was elected to his first council term with 114 votes.
Incumbent Harry J. Johnson, who had been appointed to complete the unexpired term of John Toone, who resigned, lost his seat. He polled 106 votes.
Challengers Judy Lloyd, who received 60 votes, and Jerri Morton, who polled 92 votes, were not elected to the town’s governing body.
Voters in Crewe and Burkeville turned out in large numbers Tuesday to say they are not ready to embrace change or at least not ready to embrace the candidates who promised to bring change during the next two years.
Two-term incumbent Crewe Mayor Henry H. Crittenden held off a stern challenge by Vice-Mayor Sally Tabb Wilkerson. The vote was 250 for Mr. Crittenden and 177 for Mrs. Wilkerson.
As the campaign developed, no great difference in issues appeared to separate Mr. Çrittenden and Mrs. Wilkerson. The incumbent ran on his record as mayor. The challenger said there needed to be better overall planning and execution of plans than had occurred in the recent past. It is clear from Tuesday’s vote that the planning issue was not enough to pull Mrs. Wilkerson to election.
She not only lost the mayoralty contest, but also will rotate off of Crewe Town Council when the new governing body is sworn in on July 1. She heads the council's finance committee.
In Burkeville, Joseph F. “Joe” Morrissette won a fourth term as mayor, handily defeating the town’s former police chief, Richard Thomas “Tom” Andrews. Of all the local candidates in either town on Tuesday, Mr. Andrews represented the most change. He promised that if elected “everything would change,” and that plea simply was too much for Burkeville and its “good-old-boy” style of governance for decades.
Mr. Andrews said his adopted hometown is “stagnant” and that there is no reason Burkeville is not growing, especially in light of it being near two major highways, U.S. 360 and U.S. 460.
Mayor Morrissette polled 142 votes to 50 for Mr. Andrews.
Mayor Morrissette and his colleagues on Burkeville Town Council probably will view the election results as an affirmation of how they govern and they will not deviate from it during the next two years.
There were no surprises in town council races in either Crewe or Burkeville.
In Crewe, first-term Council Gary Lee Simmons Jr., was the high vote-getter, polling 330 votes, the most of any candidate in the election.
Newcomer Pat Rose received 326 votes and will join council in July.
Re-elected were Rhea Houchins with 321 votes; E.B. Fisher, 315; John Spencer, 304; Bobby Duffy, 248; and Harrison Skipwith Jr., 243;
Eight candidates sought seven seats on the Crewe council. The only candidate not elected or re-elected was Louise Colette Belle, who polled 227 votes. She would have become the first African-American on Crewe Town Council and she just missed being elected.
In Burkeville, 10 candidates sought seven council seats.
Longtime Councilman Earl Moore polled the most votes with 151. He was followed by incumbent council members Sherry Mouser, 135; Pearl Bowlin, 129; Wayne Rickman, 125; Paul Bennett, 122; and Zora Bruce, 108. Newcomer Steven A. Higgins also was elected to his first council term with 114 votes.
Incumbent Harry J. Johnson, who had been appointed to complete the unexpired term of John Toone, who resigned, lost his seat. He polled 106 votes.
Challengers Judy Lloyd, who received 60 votes, and Jerri Morton, who polled 92 votes, were not elected to the town’s governing body.
posted by Rick Gunter at Tuesday, May 06, 2008
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