Local News - November 2003

Voters elect new mayor

Published November 5, 2003

By Staff reports

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CHERRYVILLE — It seems the city of Cherryville wanted a change — a big change.

Citizens elected a new mayor and two new city council members on Tuesday night.

Bob Austell, Ron Hovis and Gert Fisher have replaced incumbents Wade Stroupe, Jerry Hudson and Wes Golden.

Austell and Stroupe’s numbers fluctuated throughout the night in a tight race.

“I have no idea what the results are. There was a discrepancy at the poles,” Stroupe said election night.

“It’s very close. We were tied with 360 votes each.”

In the end, Austell beat Stroupe by 87 votes. It was the closest Cherryville race of the night.

In Ward Two, Fisher received 54.44 percent of the votes, beating Golden by 122 votes.

“I just appreciate all the support I got from all the citizens,” Fisher said. “I’m going to work hard to carry out all the promises I made to them.”

Hovis had the largest victory with 166 votes over Hudson, or 48.74 percent, in Ward Four.

Hugh “Mark” Moss received 14.67 percent of the vote in Ward Four. 

“I just think people really wanted a change,” Fisher said. “We want a better source of water for our city, and we want jobs for our city.”

All the winners of the Cherryville elections supported a permanent source of water for Cherryville, such as a lake.

The former mayor and council members had worked to create a water interconnect between Lincolnton and Cherryville. They believed this was an adequate solution to the problem.

“Cherryville needs their own reliable water source,” Hovis said.

“The interconnect is a good option when water gets low, but when Lincolnton gets low, it will cut Cherryville off to take care of its own citizens.”

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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