Jefferson County Voters Give Nod To Incumbents

Jefferson County gave the nod to incumbents yesterday, when citizens went to the polls to cast their ballots in the Primary Election. Sheriff G.W. (Bud) McCoig received 53.54% of the vote, besting his opponent, David Davenport, with a 4338 to 3753 spread. McCoig will be unopposed in the General Election, therefore he will serve a second term as Sheriff of Jefferson County.

Mayor Alan Palmieri bested his challenger for the Republican ticket, Marty Mills, 3911 to 3767. Palmieri is seeking his third term at the helm of Jefferson County and will face democrat Mike Dockery in the General Election in August.

Three candidates were seeking the office of County Clerk for Jefferson County. Frank Herndon brought in 38.65% of the vote with 2946 ballots cast in his favor. Herndon was followed by Adderhold with 2800 and Estes with 1873. As there is no democrat on the General Election ticket for August, Herndon will assume the role of Jefferson County Clerk from a retiring Rick Farrar.

Longtime Jefferson County Trustee received a mandate of the vote on Tuesday, bringing in 74.37% of the ballots cast in the May 6, 2014 election. She will be unchallenged in the August General Election and her 5702 to 1965 victory over republican candidate Kevin Breeden assures her another term as the Jefferson County Trustee.

In the highly contested General Sessions Judge race, Dennis “Will” Roach II bested his nearest challenger, Rick Scroggins, by a shallow margin of 28 votes. Roach received 2155 votes for 26.94% and Scroggins came in with 2127 and 26.59% of the vote. Other Challengers for the seat included Ballew (1395), Randolph (1336) and Repass (982). Roach will be unchallenged in the General Election and will assume the seat of General Sessions Judge that will be vacated by a retiring Judge Ben Strand.

Circuit Court Judge II Richard “Dick” Vance will serve another term following the results of the May 6, 2014 Primary. Vance, whose race spanned several counties, bested his opponent, Scott Justice, with a 3314 to 2850 spread in Jefferson County. Vance carried the election for his seat in his area of jurisdiction to secure a seat on the bench for another term. He is unopposed in the General Election.

Several uncontested candidates also received votes of confidence from their constituents in Jefferson County. Circuit Court Judge Ben Hooper received 5704 votes-Circuit Court Judge III Rex Ogle received 5488-Circuit Court Judge IV Dewayne Slone received 5835-Chancellor Telford Forgety received 6000-Attorney General 4th Judicial District James “Jimmy” Dunn received 5945 and Public Defender Ed Miller received 5477 votes in the Primary Election. None of the positions are contested in the General Election and all will retain their seats for another term in office.

Also unchallenged in the Primary and General Elections were Penny Ollis Murphy, Circuit County Clerk, and Ed Stiner, Register of Deeds. Murphy received 6062 confidence votes and Stiner brought in 6276 confidence votes. Both will retain their seats for another term as the Circuit Court Clerk and Register of Deeds, respectively.

In the Democrat Primary, Mike Dockery will challenge republican candidate and incumbent Alan Palmieri for the office of Jefferson County Mayor in the August General Election. Dockery was unopposed in the primary election, receiving 145 votes.

According to the Jefferson County Election Office, nine provisional ballots were cast in the Primary Election, which is less than the spread of the vote count in any primary election. Though early voting numbers indicated a larger than usual voter turnout, Election Day total were under projections. Historically, Jefferson County votes are closely split between the early vote and Election Day vote. In the 2014 Primary Election, early voting bested Election Day voting by 563 ballots. The total votes cast in the same election cycle in 2010 were 14 votes shy of the totals for Tuesday’s Primary Election.