DeLand, FL – The mayor’s race in Lake Helen is going to a recount.
Buddy Snowden retains his seat for now by the slimmest of margins after voters in that city and in Holly Hill went to the polls for Volusia County’s final election in 2015.
Unofficial results from the Volusia County Supervisor of Elections show Snowden got 389 votes (50.06%) in Tuesday’s municipal election. His opponent – Vice-Mayor Ann Robbins – got 388 votes (49.94%).
No other mayoral candidates were on the ballot for Lake Helen, though there was 1 blank vote in that contest, according to the Supervisor of Elections website.
The recount will take place Thursday at 1pm, according to Deputy Supervisor of Elections Lisa Lewis.
Robbins and Snowden were the top 2 candidates in a 4-person run-off for the mayor’s seat in August, with Robbins taking the top spot in that election by 7 votes.
2 spots on the Lake Helen City Commission were also up for grabs in Tuesday’s election.
In Zone 1 – Robbins’ old seat – Tom Wilson beat Ryan Hannan by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. Wilson got 472 votes (66.7%) while Hannah got 236 votes (33.3%).
The Zone 3 race was closer, but Michael Woods’ 399 votes (55.65%) were enough to defeat Von Russell’s 318 votes (44.35%). The seat was previously held by Rick Basso.
Nearly 40.5% of Lake Helen’s 1,923 registered voters cast a ballot.
Turnout was much lower in Holly Hill, where voters had 8 charter amendments to sift through. Only 10.83% of the city’s 7,008 registered voters participated.
5 of the 8 amendments passed, including Amendment 3, which eliminates the current City Manager firing procedure in favor of an employment contract.
The other 3 amendment were voted down, including Amendments 5 and 6. The former would’ve made city commission terms 4 years instead of the current 2 years. The latter would’ve eliminated the current 2-term limit for the mayor’s office.
Amendment 5 had the closest margin of victory, with the “no” votes beating the “yes” votes by 13.
Click here for the full results in Holly Hill.
Click here for the full ballot.
This is the final election in Volusia before the presidential primary next March. It’s also the final election where Volusia used the same voting machines they’ve been using since 1994. New ones recently bought by the county will take their place in March.
Copyright 2015 Southern Stone Communications.