Allen Brown, a former mayor of Hinesville, won the seat again during Tuesday’s runoff election.
The unofficial results have Brown with 1,341 votes over Mayor Pro-Tem Charles Frasier’s 1,173 votes.
“I feel extremely well right now. I feel great,” Brown said after learning of his win.
“Just had a lot of hard work in that run off,” Brown said. “We just went back and did the exact same things we’d done before, we just tried to do them a little better. And obviously, it was good enough and we’re all excited.”
Frasier congratulated Brown on his victory.
“I’ve enjoyed the run and now I simply must thank and congratulate the new mayor, Allen Brown, as he will become the new mayor,” Frasier said. “And I’m hoping that he will be able to take this city forward. That’s the important thing is that he never forget these people and that he will continue to move this city forward.”
Brown and Frasier were the top two vote-getters in a five-way election in November.
The District 3 council seat, left open by Councilman David Anderson Sr., who decided not to seek another term, featured Vicky Nelson and Arthur Nixon.
Nelson and Nixon were the top two vote-getters in a three-way election last month.
Nelson, after winning 66.5 percent of the vote, said, “Thank you to everybody that — all the supporters, all the voters. And we really worked hard for it, so we’ll work hard at it.”
A runoff was needed in both races because no candidate in either race captured a clear majority of the votes in November.
The other City Council races were decided last month. Diana Reid won District 1, a seat left open by Frasier. Incumbents in districts 2 and 5, Jason Floyd and Kenneth Shaw, fended off challenges, and District 4 incumbent Keith Jenkins was uncontested.
During Tuesday’s voting, Joseph Gillam, an Army and Hinesville Police Department retiree, said he voted for Frasier.
“I voted for him because I think he’s the best-qualified person,” Gillam said. “I think (Allen Brown) had his turn and didn’t produce,” he said.
“Well, I think it’s important to see it through the finish line,” Gillam said about coming out to vote in the runoff election. “By all means, and if they run off again, I’ll be back.”
Lois Holden, a Hinesville resident since 1986, said she came out to vote because it was her duty.
“I think it’s very important. You shouldn’t complain if you didn’t vote,” Holden said of the importance of voting in the runoff. “And so if you’re not happy with what’s going on, you should’ve did what you needed to do to help change things.”
Victoria Hicks, a Hinesville resident for nine years, said she voted for Frasier because she believes he is going to do the right thing for the city.
“He has vision and he’s looking to make things better,” she said.
According to the unofficial results, 2,514 votes were cast for mayor out of 10,004 registered voters.
For District 3, 403 votes were cast out of 1,850 registered voters.
“And we’ve seen him since then. He remembered myself and my husband by name, which I thought was very impressive,” Hicks said. “Mr. Brown, I didn’t get any fliers or information about him whatsoever. So, I don’t know what his platform is.”