Politics

Discussions over local politics.

Two at-large seats open on Altha Town Council

June 24, 2011

Two at-large seats on the Altha Town Council currently held by Joe Amason and Lee Alday will be up for election Aug. 23. Candidates interested in running for those jobs, which pays $1 a year, have until noon Friday to file their intent with the Calhoun County Elections Office. Traditionally, candidates for the town council filed at Altha Town Hall but this year they will have to go to the elections office in Blountstown. There is a $2 qualifying fee. The remaining board members currently serving the town of Altha include Tammy Gable, Derek Creamer, Rick Watson and Mayor...

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Three council seats, mayor and clerk’s positions open City of Bristol election

June 24, 2011

No date has been set but qualifying week is expected to be held in late August or early September for the Bristol City Council election. Three council positions will be open, along with the job of Mayor and City Clerk. Those city council positions are currently held by Mayor Betty Brantley and council members Steve Cutshaw, Gilda Drummond and Brigham Shuler. Robin Hatcher is the City Clerk. The remaining board members currently serving include Chairman Mitch Willis and Ed Botting. Council members are paid $1 a year. The election will be held in November. The Bristol City Council meets...

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Goodman tops list of Blountstown City Manager candidates

May 27, 2011

by Teresa Eubanks, Journal Editor The Blountstown City Council reviewed a list of the top candidates to fill the position of City Manager in a special meeting Tuesday night. The list was narrowed down to six from the top 10 after four candidates said they were no longer interested in the position advertised in late January. The five council members graded each candidate after reviewing their applications, assigning a grade of between one to 100 points. The final candidates include the following with the total points they received in the scoring process: • Nathan Goodman of Blountstown, 403 points....

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Councilmembers sworn in Jan. 11

January 21, 2011
Councilmembers sworn in Jan. 11

Councilmembers Tony Shoemake (left) and James Griffin, along with Mayor Winston Deason, were sworn in by City Attorney David House for another term of service on the Blountstown City Council at the beginning of a controversial meeting Jan. 11, where City Manager James Woods was ousted by a 3-2 vote. The new year will bring some challenges to the council as they begin the search for a new city manager with numerous projects pending, including $3 million in upgrades to the electrical system, working with the new high school water system and upgrading the city’s water system, conducting a...

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Jackson wins Blountstown City Council runoff Tues.

December 10, 2010

Clifford Jackson garnered 68.44 percent of the votes in Tuesday’s runoff election for the Ward 1 seat on the Blountstown City Council. A total of 244 ballots were cast, with Jackson getting 167 votes to opponent Roy Pickron’s 77.

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City of Blountstown runoff set for Dec. 7

December 3, 2010

Voters have one race to decide in the Dec. 7 special runoff election for the Ward 1 seat on the Blountstown City Council. The city’s voters are asked to decide between Clifford L. Jackson, who had 319 votes (44.24%) in the Nov. 2 election or Roy Pickron, who garnered 302 votes (41.89%) last time. That election eliminated a third candidate, Beverly Veress, who received 100 votes. For those who don’t want to wait for the polls to open next Tuesday, early voting is already under way and will continue through Saturday at the Calhoun County Elections Office in the...

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Candidate for Lt. Gov. makes a stop in Bristol

October 22, 2010
Candidate for Lt. Gov. makes a stop in Bristol

Democratic Lt. Gov. candidate Rod Smith made a stop in Bristol Monday as he did a little politickin’ through the panhandle. Smith, accompanied by Robert Trammell, spoke with elected officials at the Apalachee Restaurant and urged them to support Alex Sink’s campaign for governor. He warned that opponent Rick Scott’s budget-cutting plans could lead to shutting down state prisons and the state hospital and handing them over to private companies. In turn, that would “cut pensions, wages, morale and services,” he said. Smith emphasized the rural heritage that he and Sink share. Trammell followed up by saying, “North Florida...

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Bristol City Election canceled when only 3 qualify for 3 seats

September 10, 2010

Three new Bristol City Council members will take office Jan. 1, 2011 after only three candidates qualified to fill three seats on the board, canceling the need for an election. Incumbents Mitch Willis and Brigham Shuler both returned to office without opposition. The third seat, which will be vacated at the end of Becky Nobles’ term, will go to Ed Botting, who was the only one qualifying for that spot. The Bristol City Council meets the first Monday after the first Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m.

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Seven votes decide Blountstown mayor’s race; Griffin wins council seat

September 3, 2010

by Teresa Eubanks, Journal Editor Just seven votes separated the candidates for Blountstown city mayor in last week’s election after six provisional ballots were counted. Four provisional ballots went to challenger Steve Bailey while incumbent Blountstown Mayor Winston Deason had two provisional ballots, ensuring his lead of 342 over Bailey’s 335. The election put a new Blountstown City Council member in place when James Griffin secured 456 votes over incumbent David Blair, who had 203 votes. The Altha mayor’s race was a clear cut one, with incumbent Wes Johnston getting 99 votes to the 33 received by his opponent,...

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Close vote leads to recount in one Liberty Co. race; Davis wins by just three votes

September 3, 2010

by Teresa Eubanks, Journal Editor Both the incumbent and his challenger had plenty of support in last week’s District 4 County Commission race in Liberty County with only three votes separating them after the final tally. Davis Stoutamire secured another term on the county commission after the votes were verified in his race with challenger Bo Sanders. The two men were separated by four votes on election night after a provisional ballot was verified after the unofficial results were tallied. A machine recount was conducted the next day and one ballot – in which the voter had made a...

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