With his wife, daughter and granddaughter by his side, Karl Riles emphatically thanked his family and his supporters Tuesday night.
Riles gave his victory speech to supporters, family and friends after he convincingly won the race for Hinesville mayor, collecting 2,088 of 3,065 votes cast.
All three incumbents were returned to their seats on Hinesville City Council, there will be no runoffs, even with three of the seats being contested by three candidates.
Riles, the current Council 5 representative, beat Liston Singletary III, who had 977 votes. He will take over the mayor’s gavel from Allen Brown, who cannot serve again after the end of his second four-year term as mayor. Brown endorsed Riles as his successor, and Riles thanked Brown for his leadership and mentorship in his victory speech.
“It’s a lot to take in,” Riles said of his victory. Being born here, being raised here and now being mayor of the city, I can’t put it into words. This is my home. It means everything.”
Riles said running for mayor has been a personal issue for him. In his speech to his supporters, he recalled seeing the late Charles Frasier on city council and cited him as an inspiration, along with state Rep. Al Williams, who also backed Riles’ campaign.
“It is personal to me,” Riles said. “My great-grandparents settled here. My granddaughter is here. My daughter is here. The growth and the development of this town, what it’s been, what it is and what it can be, is personal and I am dedicated to making Hinesville the best city it can be. It’s personal – it just means more.”
District 1 incumbent Diana Reid held off two challengers to win without a runoff, taking 390 of 585 votes cast. District 2 incumbent Jason Floyd beat challenger Robert Cunningham 501-193 and District 3 incumbent Vicky Nelson beat challenger Arthur Nixon 380-170.
“Evidently I’ve got the support of God and the people,” Reid said. “They know I’m sincere. I’m just full and speechless that I’m appreciated by the community, and they realize the hard work I put in, that I put my whole heart and soul into it.”
Reid will be serving a third term in office, and Floyd, first elected in 2010, will enter his fourth full term.
“I’m excited,” Floyd said. “This is how I give back to my community. I do it because I love Hinesville and the community and this is how I can use my talents to better the community. I’m excited the voters supported me and supported me overwhelmingly. I’m excited about our new mayor and our new council members. I’m looking forward to building some cohesion and moving the city forward. “
In the two open seats, Dexter Newby won a three-way race for the District 4 seat, which became open when Keith Jenkins opted not to run for re-election. Newby received 396 of 584 votes cast against challengers Mike Alamo and Joel Nicholson Jr.
Jose Ortiz won District 5’s open seat, becoming the first Hispanic to be elected to office in the city. He received 341 out of 627 votes cast against fellow candidates Henry L. Covington and Eric L. Hollis.
Ortiz sees his election as giving the growing Hispanic community in Hinesville a voice.
“They can share their concerns to a fellow Latino, a fellow Hispanic, and I can take it to the city and help them understand the culture and the meaning behind what they’re saying,” he said.
Ortiz was a newcomer to politics and elections but he said he enjoyed being out on the campaign trail.
“I really liked it – I did not like a lot of the back and forth and the gossip – but knocking door to door and meeting people I had never met before was really rewarding for me,” he said.
The bulk of voting in the Hinesville elections was done prior to election day itself. There were 2,017 ballots cast in early voting, and only 999 ballots cast on election day. Turnout was less than 13.4%, with a total of 3,100 ballots, including absentees, cast.
The turnout for all four cities combined was 14.6%, or 3,913 out of 26,786 voters.