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Moody, Graham win; Allen, Lewis tied in third Sylva race
By Justin Goble
Voters in Sylva elected an incumbent and a political newcomer to town board seats Tuesday (Nov. 6) while two incumbents are tied for the third open seat, according to complete but unofficial results.
Meanwhile, Forest Hills voters decisively came out in favor of the incumbent to settle a rematch of a race that ended tied two years ago.
In the race for Sylva town board, preliminary returns have incumbent board member Maurice Moody as the top vote getter with 144 votes in his favor. He is currently the longest-serving board member, having first been elected in 1997.
Joining him on the board will be political newcomer and Downtown Sylva Association Director Sarah Graham, who finished in second place with 125 votes.
In an interesting turn of events, two incumbent board members are in a dead heat for the third vacant seat. Danny Allen and Ray Lewis both earned 114 votes during the election.
Allen, who joined the board in 2001, and Lewis, who was elected in 2003, are both former Sylva police officers.
Board of Elections officials have said that there are two provisional ballots in the Sylva race that will be opened next Tuesday (Nov. 13) during the election canvass. If those ballots do not end the deadlock, the winner of the seat will be decided by a coin toss.
The race also could be decided if one of the candidates decides to concede the race, officials said.
Sylva Fire Chief Mike Beck, who was running in his first political race, came in fifth with 98 votes.
Election results will not become official until after the canvass is held.
Of Sylva’s 1,686 registered voters, Election Director Lisa Lovedahl said only 232 cast ballots, putting voter turnout at around 14 percent.
In the race for mayor in Forest Hills, incumbent Jim Davis defeated challenger Sue Burton, a Forest Hills board member, by a comfortable margin. Davis garnered 62 votes, while Burton managed 38.
That race was a rematch from 2005, when the candidates tied and Davis claimed victory only after a coin toss.
Newcomers Suzanne Stone and Gene Tweedy ran unopposed for the two vacant seats on Forest Hills’ town board. Stone got 87 votes, with Tweedy garnering 86.
Lovedahl said 102 out of the 333 registered voters took part in the Forest Hills election, marking a voter turnout of around 31 percent.
“It was a good election without any problems,” Lovedahl said.
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