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David Maschke holds off challenger in Dougherty School Board contest

• Two hotly contested Dougherty County School Board races go down to the wire before winners are declared.

Carlton Fletcher

Y — The two contested Dougherty County School Board races in the general primary Tuesday went to the wire before incumbent David Maschke and newcomer Anita Williams Brown were declared winners in the District 1 and at-large primary races, respectively.

With six of six precincts reporting in the district 1 Republican race and only about 10 provisional ballots to be counted, incumbent David Maschke led 311 to 278 votes against Republican challenger Laura Calhoun, according to unofficial and incomplete results from the Dougherty County Elections office.

“I would say that it was certainly close and stressful, and the number of voters that got out was very disappointing,” Maschke said. “I’m honored to be the Republican nominee and I look forward to November and will work diligently to be reelected.”

Calhoun said Tuesday night she was disappointed in the results but said she felt she had run a clean campaign.

“There’s nothing I would have changed,” she said. “I’m obviously very disappointed. I had a great staff helping me and the support of my family and it was great.”

With 29 of 29 precincts reporting in the at-large race, Democrat Anita Williams- Brown led Tommy Langstaff 7,849 to 7,672 votes.

Elections Supervisor Carolyn Hatcher estimated that about 10 provisional ballots were out that still had to be verified.

Williams-Brown said she was excited about tackling the school system’s budget.

“I am elated. I am very elated and very excited,” she said. “I just want to do something to help. I hope I’ll be a help to the school system here so that we can provide quality education for our children.

“The No. 1 thing is the budget. I feel that we’re spending too much money and we (need to) taper that budget but still meet the needs of the children.”

Langstaff declined to comment on the race until the results were certified by elections supervisor Carolyn Hatcher because he received conflicting reports on results.

There is no Republican opposition in the general election.

In the District 5 Dougherty County Commission race, incumbent Art Searles held off the challenge of newcomer Harry James, overcoming an early deficit to record an 1,895-909 (67.58-32.42 percent) win.

“I’ll be honest, this race has motivated me,” Searles said from his office as he put together his weekly Southwest Georgian newspaper. “I didn’t want to be bothered with it at first, but as time went on I was forced to get out and campaign. I came away with a whole new perspective on being a county commissioner.

“I want to do a better job now; I know how much this means to the people of the county.”

James, who did well outside the city precincts, said he’d gained a lot from being involved in the campaign.

“I knew we’d do well outside the city limits because the voters there told me Mr. Searles did not have time for them,” James said. “I’m disappointed to have lost, but I’m going to keep working for the betterment of Dougherty County. If nothing else, this election has put Mr. Searles on notice that the voters of this district are tired of poor representation.”

Incumbent Coroner Emma Quimbley won a second term as Dougherty County Coroner against challenger Andrew Harris Jr. with more than 62 percent of the vote. Quimbley received 9,717 votes to 5,816 for Harris.

“I just thank God,” said Quimbley. “I thank my family, my children, my church family, and the voters for having the faith to give me the opportunity to continue what I’ve been doing for the last four years.”

Quimbley said she plans to continue to educate Dougherty County youth on the dangers of drugs, drinking and driving and gang-related violence.

“If I can save just one child, I’ve done what I’ve set out to do,” Quimbley said. “I will continue to be a compassionate person, a compassionate and understanding office ... There’s so much work left to be done. Death is a part of life, but we don’t just wait for a death certificate; we’re proactive. There are some fatalities that we can deter.”

Harris declined to comment until official results were announced.

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