Andrews – The winning candidates put in some work this year.
Incumbent Mayor James Reid, incumbent Alderman Steve Jordan and political newcomer Brandi Smith spent about 12 hours on Election Day distributing hugs and handshakes outside voting precincts. The effort proved fruitful as they beat out a crowded field of candidates to serve local residents for the next four years.
“It’s an honor to serve Andrews a second term as mayor,” Reid said. “It made me feel good that Andrews turned out like it did in the election because they truly care.”
Reid received nearly 65 percent of votes cast in the mayoral race to beat out challengers Randy Hogsed and J L Franklin.
Meanwhile, Smith was the top vote-getter among the seven candidates seeking one of the two open aldermen seats. She earned nearly 28 percent of the votes cast, with Jordan receiving nearly 25 percent.
“This is going to be my last term, if I win,” Jordan told the Cherokee Scout before learning the vote tally. He later reiterated that a fifth term as alderman will likely be his last, but added, “Something could change.”
Reid and Jordan both expressed optimism when talking about working with Smith to continue the progress made over the past four years. Meanwhile, Smith said she’s ready to jump into the alderman role.
“I am honored to have been chosen as the Andrews alderwoman,” Smith said. “I want to learn everything that I can about the Town of Andrews government so that I can make the right decisions to benefit Andrews. I believe that we can make our town safe and prosperous again. It’s going to take everybody working toward the same goals to make it happen.”
In 2015, elected officials amended the town’s charter to stagger the terms of elected aldermen. The change was made to prevent the loss of knowledgeable officials in the event of turnover across the entire board. As a result, only two alderman seats were up for grabs this year.
Reid, Jordan and Smith will take the oath of office at the December meeting and will each serve a four-year term. Aldermen Jonathan Ellison and Mike Sheidy have two years left of their current terms in office.