Voters return incumbents to Cordele commission

Published 8:28 pm Tuesday, November 5, 2019

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Voter turnout was sparse in municipal elections held for the cities of Cordele and Arabi on Tuesday. Two incumbent members of the Cordele Board of Commissioners were returned to office for another term.

Cordele Ward 4 Commissioner Wesley Rainey won re-election by a margin of 276 votes to 87 cast for his challenger, Joshua Deriso. Cordele Ward 1 Commissioner Vesta Beal Shephard won re-election over her challenger, Milton Holly, Jr., by a margin of 133 votes to 75.

“I’m overwhelmed by the support I received and it’s going to be an honor to serve the city for another four years,” Rainey said Tuesday night after the votes were counted.

Arabi Post 3 City Councilman Curtis Lee Clark was re-elected with 53 votes compared to 25 cast for his challenger, Wayne Harris. Arabi Post 4 City Councilman Robert Southwell won re-election with 67 votes cast in his favor compared to 18 votes cast for challenger William H. Schargenberg, IV.

Arabi Mayor Craig Huckaby was re-elected without opposition.

Voters in Vienna and Abbeville also cast ballots in municipal elections there on Tuesday. We will update this story with results from those contests as soon as possible.