Midterm Winners Respond to Election Results

By Tammy Moore Teague
It was a long night of returns coming in, but by morning the winners had emerged. Locally, Hackett, Mansfield and Waldron will all see new Mayors in office in January. In addition to the mayoral races, several city council races were also determined. Incumbents for Scott County Sheriff and Scott County Assessor, will hang on to their positions and serve another term.
Incumbent for Arkansas District 21 Representative Marcus Richmond expressed his gratitude for the win. “I am honored and humbled by your overwhelming support. Thank you so very much. First, I want to thank God for His many blessings. Second, I want to thank my wife Susan for standing with me throughout this long process. Finally,  I want to recognize my opponent Stele James and his family for running a spirited race. It is tough to throw your hat in the ring and run for any office. Now we must turn to the hard work ahead. I will do my utmost to represent your values while representing our district. Again thank you for your overwhelming support.”
Locally in the Mayoral races, Waldron Mayor-Elect David Millard said: “I thank everyone for their confidence and support. I will do everything I can to earn it and trust the Lord to lead and guide me to take our city forward.” Mansfield Mayor-Elect, Buddy Black shared a similar sentiment. “I thank God for allowing me to serve as mayor and I praise Him for this opportunity. I look forward to making Mansfield an even better place to live and work. It is an honor to be elected Mayor of the City of Mansfield.” Hackett Mayor-Elect Trini Harper said “I want to thank everyone that voted. A special thanks to Louie Kerkindall for being my campaign manager and for all his hard work. Also to my family for all their hard work campaigning for me. I will work hard for the City of Hackett.”
The Waldron Alderman Hickman ward 3, position 2 seat went to Paige Cupit. However, challenger Doyle Dickens plans to run again in the future. This race in particular was a great example of forthrightness. Cupit said “I just want to say thank you to my supporters. This is the first step in the great plans that I have for Waldron. I hope to work hard for my community and prove that I can do great things.” Danielle Woodard won a seat on the Hartford City Council. Woodard said, “I want to thank all those that voted for me. I also want to say, this was nothing personal, as Winnie has been kind to me. We just needed a change. I also want people to realize, change takes time. I will fight for what is right, and any decision I make won’t be taken lightly. I am only one person and can only do so much, as it takes majority to agree. I have a lot to learn so be patient. Again, thank you for your vote and bring on 2019!”
John Lutterell won the Scott County JP District 7 race. I’d like to thank everyone that voted for me in the election, to my knowledge I’m the first Justice of the Peace to win that seat as a Republican in my lifetime. That said, I’ll do my best to represent everyone fairly, regardless of their political beliefs. Thanks again, it’s humbling and an honor to fill my father’s shoes in this position.”
Incumbent Terri Churchill will serve another term as Scott County Assessor. She said: “I would like to thank everyone for your continued support in my re-election as your assessor. It is greatly appreciated. Thanks again!” Scott County Sheriff Randy Shores was also honored that the people chose him to serve another term. “I want to thank my friends, family and the citizens of Scott County for all their support. I really appreciate the confidence they have placed in me and I am looking forward to continuing to work on making Scott County even better. It’s so awesome they put me back in here, I love my job and I like working for the citizens in the county.”
Congratulations to all the candidates and newly elected officials on a job well-done!