Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Booker Beats Otwell, Annexation Issue Defeated

Emmet will be heading into the 21st Century under the leadership of Dale Booker.

Booker edged incumbent Ottis P. "Chuck" Otwell in the General Election Tuesday, Nov. 3.

The race between these two men was close, with Booker garnering 123 votes to Otwell's 117. The Otwell camp demanded, and received, a recount. However, the results remained unchanged.

The annexation issue was defeated by voters by a 135-124 margin.

Citizens of Emmet were divided before the election because of the annexation. Those opposing being brought into the city limits were vocal in their displeasure, while many who favored it simply remained quiet.

Following Tuesday's election results, it was first thought the annexation had passed. But, according to Davis Benton, chairman of the Nevada County Election Commission, it was discovered the paper ballots used for the annexation issue had not been added to the tally sheet from Emmet Rural.

This changed the outcome as 21 residents in this ward voted against the annexation, and four favored the issue.

Benton said the annexation issue was the only race affected by this incident. These ballots, he said, had been counted at the time, but the results weren't transferred to the tally sheet.

When the results were double-checked, the discrepancy was found.

Benton said this is one of the first times mixed ballots have been used. Paper ballots were used in Emmet only for the annexation, while regular ballots were used for the rest of the election results.

For races on the Emmet City Council, Billy Joe Barnett edged William Hamilton 120-117, while Wayne Baker retained his seat against two opponents. Baker received 117 votes, with Tom Hand getting 31 and Harold Richardson getting 84.

In Cale, Helen Benton retained her seat on the city council, beating Margaret Barham 44-22.

According to Davis Benton, chairman of the Nevada County Election Commission, the voter turnout in Emmet was 67 percent, while 97 percent of registered voters in Cale went to the polls. This, he said, is a record turnout.

In the other Cale council race, Richard Martin beat Ferrell Johnson 38-26.

These were the only local contested races for the election. All other races were statewide and national.

For U.S. Senate, Blanche Lambert Lincoln carried the county with 1,870 votes. Her Republican opponent, Fay Boozman got 885 votes, with Reform candidate Charley E. Heffley getting 56 votes.

In the race for the Fourth Congressional District, State Rep. Judy Smith won the county, but lost the race. She beat incumbent Jay Dickey locally 1,453-1,365.

The race for governor was close in Nevada County, with Gov. Mike Huckabee taking the region with 1,575 votes. His Democratic challenger, Bill Bristow, garnered 1,214 votes, with the Reform candidate, Keith Carle, getting 26.

Lt. Gov. Win Rockefeller also carried the county, as well as the state. He took the county 1,530-1,277 against Kurt Dilday.

The race for Arkansas Attorney General saw Mark Pryor easily outdistance Betty Dickey. Pryor, son of former Sen. David Pryor, received 1,976 votes to Dickey's 830 in the county. He also won the race statewide.

Secretary of State Sharon Priest had little trouble dispatching her opponent, Rose Jones in Nevada County. Priest received 2,189 votes to Jones' 592. She also won the election across the state.

Justice Donald Corbin was reelected as one of the justices for the Arkansas Supreme Court. He beat Judge Frank Arey 1,969-158 in Nevada County.

Robert J. White carried the county in his race against Toni Rankin for a seat in the Arkansas House of Representatives. White took the race locally 390-157.

Two of the three proposed amendments went down in flames, while one passed.

Amendment 1, a proposition to allow cities and counties to enter indebtedness for short term purchases lost locally 1,383-1,283, and also fell statewide.

Amendment 2, which would have allowed 3/5 of the legislature to approve passing a tax instead of 75 percent, also lost statewide. Locally, the issue was soundly defeated, 1,691-944.

While Amendment 3, a measure to allow retired judges to sit on the bench to help alleviate the crowded court docket, lost in Nevada County 1,483-1,050, but passed statewide.

The water bond issue was approved by local voters, barely, 1,317-1,233, as well as across the state.