ANDERSON — Two state incumbent state representatives for parts of Madison County celebrated decisive victories Tuesday night, while the third barely held on as he trailed his challenger by 34 votes.
Jack Lutz, Republican for District 35, and Terri Austin, Democrat for District 36, each won their races: Lutz by more than 3,000 votes and Austin by more than 4,000. Scott Reske, Democrat representing District 37, and his challenger, Republican Kelly Gaskill, were locked in a dead heat with 12,000 absentee ballots remaining to be counted.
“There’s just too many absentees out,” Reske said. “I’m feeling pretty calm so we’ll see how that goes.”
Gaskill also said she was feeling mellow Tuesday despite being locked in a close race.
“It’s not over yet,” she said. “I’m just thrilled that voters have voted.”
Gaskill said she expected a close race all along, thanks to her volunteers and family support.
That race was marred in recent weeks by accusations by Gaskill that Reske had threatened her family and accusations by Reske that Gaskill had lowered her home’s assessment as Fall Creek Township assessor.
Austin said she wouldn’t celebrate a victory too early, but was excited when her more than 4,000-vote lead over opponent Frank Burrows was announced.
“I appreciate this vote of confidence from the voters,” she said.
When she gets back the Statehouse, Austin wants to tackle mass transit, education funding and monitoring the recently passed property tax bill and its effects.
She thinks issues like jobs and economic development are what helped her win.
“In the end, it was pocketbook issues,” she said.
Burrows hadn’t given up hope yet Tuesday night, waiting for the absentee votes to be counted.
“We put a lot of hard work into the campaign,” he said. “We did everything we could do.”
Lutz thanked the constituents who voted for him in District 35 and said he would work on pushing the Republican agenda in the House this session, which includes balancing the budget, working on economic development and renewable energy.
“I thank them for their vote of confidence and I will work again like I have in the past for the next two years,” he said.
Libertarian candidate Greg Noland for District 36 got 638 votes on Tuesday, while Libertarian candidate Rob Jozwiak for District 37 got 1,029.
Election 2011
12:18 a.m.: Dist. 37 undecided; 35 & 36 to incumbents
Districts 35, 36 go to incumbents
- Election 2011
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Ockomon suing Spencer for alleged defamation
Mayor Kris Ockomon has filed a lawsuit against Teresa Spencer claiming false statements she made that resulted in damage to Ockomon. The suit claims that Spencer “provided false and unprivileged statements to the media and general public, orally and in writing."
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Election results at individual precincts changed a lot from '07
Democratic Mayor Kris Ockomon believes part of the blame for his re-election loss lies with the votes that went to Libertarian Rob Jozwiak instead of him. But Jozwiak disagrees and thinks that if he hadn’t been a candidate, Republican Kevin Smith would have still won.
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Summitville races in question
One of the candidates for Summitville’s clerk/treasurer said she is contemplating her next step is after alleging that she and other Democratic candidates witnessed several voting improprieties during Tuesday’s election.
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Editorial: Voters elect Smith, send message of disenchantment
Each of the three men who ran for mayor of Anderson can continue to play a vital part in the growth of the community. Here’s hoping they foster collaboration, rather than factionalism.
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Kevin Smith back as Anderson mayor
Four years after citizens chose not to re-elect Kevin Smith, they changed their minds. Smith, who was the Republican mayor from 2004 to 2007, was elected on Tuesday to retake office next year.
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Council incumbents re-elected; newcomer joins them
The eight incumbents who sought re-election to Anderson City Council got their wishes Tuesday, which left the Democratic party continuing to hold the majority. The ninth position will have a new face — Democrat Ty Bibbs in an at-large seat.
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Frankton gets new clerk/treasurer
At around 8:30 p.m. Kathy Hudson, Frankton Town Council clerk, had the final tally including the next person that would fill her shoes.
With almost double the votes, the duty went to Democratic candidate Jack Brown. -
Republicans oust Dems in Chesterfield
Republicans ousted two Democratic incumbents in the Chesterfield election Tuesday night. Deborah Dunham will replace Candy Bennett as the clerk/treasurer and Jerry Fields will fill Lynette Carter’s seat on the town council.
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Dockrey upset in Alexandria council race
A second shot at running for office paid off for Dan Stanley. The Democratic at-large candidate led the final election results Tuesday with 32 percent of the vote, landing a spot on Alexandria City Council.
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Arnold overcomes Democratic dominance in Elwood
A five-point plan including the establishment of a development commission proved to be the difference in Republican candidate Ron Arnold’s campaign for Elwood mayor.
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