West wins re-election in Leakesville. Bray leads total vote tally and will join four incumbents on Board of Aldermen

From Staff Reports

There was a lot of talk about ‘change’ over the past couple of weeks around Leakesville as Tuesday’s municipal election approached, but as it turns out, voters must have been pretty happy with the leadership they have in place.

According to unofficial results, all four incumbents on the Leakesville Board of Aldermen that were seeking re-election on Tuesday, as well as incumbent Mayor David West West, were re-elected. Bill Burley, Joe Bullard, Richard Hale and Karen Smith each appear locked in for another four year term. They will be joined on the board by political newcomer McKay Bray, who not only claimed the fifth seat on the board, but did so with the highest vote total among all the candidates.

Bray was leading the ticket when the initial vote tally was announced Tuesday evening. She earned 191 votes, 18% more than Burley, who was the second highest vote-getter on Tuesday with 162. Hale came in second among the incumbents with 160 votes, followed by Smith (152) and Bullard (144). Leeandra Hayes finished just outside the winning ticket with a total of 141 votes. There are five affidavit ballots left to be counted, that could possibly push Hayes past Bullard in the race. That outcome will be known Wednesday when election officials review those ballots and certify the election results.

Following Hayes on the tally sheet were Mark Edwards (112 votes) and Joseph Clark (106 votes).

In the Leakesville mayoral race, West earned re-election by defeating his challenger and outgoing alderman Mel Williams Jr. by a 158-to-130 margin.