Lofton, Armstrong win city council elections

May 1 marked election day for the City of Marlin, along with various local elections around the state. 

Up for grabs this year were multiple positions, but only two had competing campaigners. The Mayoral race put Mayor Carolyn Lofton up against former Mayor John Kefer and newcomer Mayra Biundo. 

Sonia Ponce, Debra Levels-McDavid, and Neddie Lang-Moore each ran unopposed for precinct one, three, and five, while local pastor John Armstrong and community advocate Robert Dimmerson Jr. Duked it out for precinct six. 

Unofficial results were released over the weekend, though these may be a good predictor of the voting outcome. Up until election day itself, the mayoral race looked to be a close call.

According to those, Mayor Carolyn Lofton will be holding her position for an additional two-year term with a whopping 324 votes, 165 of which were early voters. John Keefer was her runner up, with 275 total votes, 168 of them from early voting. Mayra Biundo received 11 votes total, eight of them during early voting.

Sonia Ponce received 36 votes, Levels-McDavid received 25, and Lang-Moore received 34. Each of these ladies will join or return to the Marlin City Council for a two year term.

As for precinct six, there was a question of ballot fraud by naysayers on Facebook. It was said that John Armstrong was not on the paper ballots for precinct six, though he was included in the electronic version. The City of Marlin was not yet available for question at the time of publication, but additional information will be released as it becomes available. 

According to the unofficial results, Armstrong received 45 early votes, which may negate that theory. He received 77 votes total, succeeding in receiving more than Dimmerson’s 48 votes. 

Official results will be available soon.

 

 

The Marlin Democrat

251 Live Oak St
Marlin, TX 76661
Phone: (254) 883-2554
Fax:(254) 883-6553