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Students turn out to vote


Martin residents poured into the polls Tuesday to vote and, when the results were tallied, liquor-by-the-drink had won.

According to unofficial numbers from the Weakley County Election Commission, 1,728 residents (57.24 percent) voted for the referendum concerning consumption of beverages on the premises, while 1,291 residents (42.76 percent) voted against the referendum.

Despite the wet weather, slightly more than 60 percent of all voters registered in Martin’s four precincts turned out to voice their opinions on liquor, the lottery, the mayoral race, three alderman races and various state races.

Of those 5,040 people, not all live within Martin’s city limits, so not all were able to vote in the mayor/alderman races or on the liquor issue.

Randy Brundige won the mayor’s race, winning over incumbent Mayor Larry Taylor by 478 votes (1,861 to 1,383).

Write-in candidate Zach Waddell had one vote.

Of the five candidates vying for Martin city alderman in Ward 1, Bill Harrison squeaked by Wendell Cates, 448 to 435, for the win. UTM Public Safety Lt. Darrell Simmons Sr. received 183 votes, followed by Mary Ann Gearin with 168 votes and Tim McCollum with 92 votes.

David Belote, assistant vice chancellor for Student Affairs at UTM, was unopposed in Ward 2, but still garnered 888 votes.

In Ward 3, Natalie Dickerson-Boyd took 471 votes to beat Rusty Goad, who had 350 votes.

The referendum authorizing the Tennessee General Assembly to establish a statewide lottery may have been approved overall, but Weakley County voters narrowly turned it down, 4,926 to 4,609. Voters in Martin, however, approved the lottery by a vote of 2,260 to 2,073.

Voter turnout countywide also was good, with 55.98 percent, or 11,156, of the county’s 19,927 registered voters visiting the polls. More than one-third of the votes were cast during the Oct. 16-31 absentee/early voting period.

State Rep. Mark Maddox took 63.41 percent of the vote in Weakley County and 67.39 percent of the vote in Carroll County to retain his position in the 76th House District. He defeated Republican Tom “Redneck” Gardner.

U.S. Sen. John Tanner handily won voters in Weakley County, garnering 70.47 percent of the vote.

In the closely contested race for U.S. Senate between Democrat Bob Clement and Republican Lamar Alexander, Clement took Weakley County with 50.43 percent of the vote.

Alexander won out the state with 901,019 votes to Clement’s 731,735.

Gubernatorial candidates Phil Bredesen and Van Hilleary also were locked in a close race, with Bredesen, a Democrat, winning in Weakley County with 54.37 percent of the vote.

News reports also showed Tuesday night that Bredesen was approved statewide to take over in January from outgoing GOP Gov. Don Sundquist.

Other Election 2002 results for Weakley County include:

•Dresden voters elected Danny W. Forrester, who ran unopposed for mayor, and returned incumbent Aldermen Gwin Anderson, Richard Shannon and Mike Youngblood to their positions. Clay Anderson received two write-in votes and outgoing Mayor Joyce Hurt received one write-in vote.

•Sharon voters elected James Gary Roberts, who ran unopposed for mayor.

Outgoing Mayor Bob Gardner and resident Gene Watlington also received some write-in votes. Two alderman positions were up for grabs, with April Baker (215) and Darrell Miller (191) being the top vote-getters over Jeff Freeman (160), Steven J. Totty (126), Billy Allen (64) and write-in candidate Gary Eddings (8).

Breakdown of Martin precincts:

Precinct 5 – Buster Williams Fire Station polling station – 62.65 percent voter turnout; lottery: 608 yes and 541 no; liquor on premises: 653 for and 581 against; mayor: Brundige with 755 and Taylor with 557; Ward 1 alderman: Cates (195), Gearin (89), Harrison (165), McCollum (42) and Simmons (46); Ward 2 alderman: Belote (656).

Precinct 6 – Trinity Presbyterian Church polling station – 57.01 percent voter turnout; lottery: 439 yes and 303 no; liquor on premises: 515 for and 268 against; mayor: Brundige with 392 and Taylor with 401; Ward 2 alderman: Belote (148); Ward 3 alderman: Boyd (355) and Goad (240).

Precinct 7 – Martin Middle School polling station – 60.29 percent voter turnout; lottery: 624 yes and 664 no; liquor on premises: 262 for and 225 against; mayor: Brundige with 311 and Taylor with 200; Ward 1 alderman: Cates (60), Gearin (23), Harrison (73), McCollum (14) and Simmons (15); Ward 2 alderman: Belote (84); Ward 3 alderman: Boyd (116) and Goad (110).

Precinct 8 – First United Methodist Church polling station – 59.75 percent voter turnout; lottery: 589 yes and 565 no; liquor on premises: 298 for and 217 against; mayor: Brundige with 403 and Taylor with 225; Ward 1 alderman: Cates (180), Gearin (56), Harrison (210), McCollum (36) and Simmons (122).