Joe Sawyer defeated Melvin Charles Marshall, 204-156, on Tuesday night in a special election runoff for the Friars Point City Council seat that became vacant when alderman Glenn Marshall died.
Sawyer, who spent 14 years as an alderman at one time, received 195 votes on Election Day and five affidavits and four absentee votes for his 204. Marshall, who is the brother of Glenn Marshall, received 155 votes on Election Day and one absentee vote for his 156.
Marshall received 90 votes in the special election Oct. 16, while Sawyer had 86, and Crystal Murry finished with 40 to force the runoff.
A total of 360 votes were counted in the runoff and there were just 216 votes on Oct. 16.
“It feels good,” Sawyer said. “I’m a voice for the citizens of Friars Point. My No. 1 issue is make sure they’re going to be treated right.”
Sawyer said the meetings are shorter than when he served on the city council and he hopes to change that.
“I don’t like them popcorn meetings they have, the microwave meetings they have,” he said. “They need to spend more time and work on the problems the town has. Them 30-minuite, 45-minute meetings ain’t going to get it.”
