2015 Pocahontas Municipal Election Results for Marlinton, Hillsboro and Durbin

We had Municipal Elections in the Pocahontas towns of Hillsboro, Marlinton and Durbin, on Tuesday, June 9th and here are the results:

In Hillsboro:

The incumbent Mayor, Anne Walker ran unopposed and won with 18 votes.

Five candidates ran for the 5 seat Town Council, so all won a seat (Sort of).
1. John Hill received 19 votes
2. Samuel McNeel Jr. received 18 votes
3. Richard Workman received 17 votes
4. Janice Goode received 15 votes
5. Sarah Groves received 16 votes

About that “Sort of” remark: Sarah Groves failed to register her new address in Hillsboro correctly, so technically her election was invalid. However, she is expected to be appointed to the Council by the other members once this technicality is corrected.

In Marlinton:

The incumbent Mayor, Joe Smith lost his bid for reelection to challenger Sam Felton by a 168 to 79 vote margin.

I spoke with Mayor, Joe Smith who said that he has no hard feelings about the results as Sam Felton is a close friend and will make a great Mayor for Marlinton. Joe says he will continue to be involved in helping the town.

Roberta Gundmanson ran unopposed for Recorder and garnered 184 votes.

6 candidates ran for the 5 Town Council Seats:
1. Mark Strauss received 177 votes
2. Adam Randall Irvine received 167 votes
3. Don Morison received 156 votes
4. Norris Long received 136 votes

The remaining two candidates tied for the last Council seat. Both Sur Helton and Scott Gibbs received 116 votes each. Mayor Smith advised me that the winner of a seat where a tie occurs has in the past been decided by some kind of Lott such as drawing a name out of a hat, a coin flip or drawing straws, and he believes that will be the case in this election too.

In Durbin:

Durbin Mayor:
1. Kenneth Lehman won with 34 votes
2. Mike Vance — received 26 votes

Durbin Recorder
Danielle Wood Findlay — Ran unopposed and got 43 votes

Durbin Town Council (5 candidates ran for 5 seats so every candidate won a seat)
1. Jeremy Bauserman — 44
2. Mark Smith — 42
3. Robert Gray, Jr. — 38
4. Shirley Mae Tracy — 35
5. Sheila Varner — 33

The results in Durbin are not official until a vote canvass on Monday, June 15th Vote Canvass, however no changes in results are expected.