Bell upsets Mack; court clerk race headed for a runoff

GAINESVILLE - The third time was the charm for Ashley Bell: Bell defeated incumbent Hall County Commissioner Deborah Mack in Tuesday's Democratic Primary by a 16 percent margin.

"Our message of reform went over well with voters in Hall County and the city," Bell said. "I feel that folks know that we can do better as a government."

It was Bell's third try at public office. He ran earlier unsuccessfully for state Representative and Gainesville City Council.

Mack said she hopes the legacy she leaves with the county commission is the work she did "to improve the lives of people and especially...the Black and Cooley drive project, I hope it will be completed by the people out there."

Mack would not close the door, however, to another race for public office in the future, declaring, "when the Lord closes one door, he has another one open somewhere else."

POWELL-MASTERS RACE

The only other Hall County commissioner with opposition Tuesday, Billy Powell, fared better than Mack.

Powell bested Chris Masters 60 percent to 40 percent to win his second term in office. He says the opponent was different this time around, but one thing did not change.

"You know we...approached it with the same vigor as the first one and the same honesty of approach and it seemed to pay off."

CLERK OF COURTS

A runoff will be necessary to decide the winner of the race for Clerk of Courts in Hall County. Jennifer Gibbs and Charles Baker were the top vote-getters in a three-person race Tuesday, with Gibbs leading the pack with 43 percent of the vote. Baker got 33 percent and Bob Vass trailed with 24 percent.

The winner will replace Dwight Wood, who chose not to seek re-election following a controversy over passport fees which his office collected and kept for himself - which the law allows.

ECHOLS-SMITH RACE

Hall County Tax Commissioner Keith Echols won re-election Tuesday. He says he will continue do everything he can to improve the procedures of the tag offices "to make it just as accessible to the taxpayers as possible."

Echols got 52 percent of the vote in his race with J.C. Smith.

CORNETT-SAMMONS

Hall County Probate Judge Patti Cornett easily won re-election to what she says will be her final term in office.

"I feel very humble and very grateful to all the people who expressed their confidence in me and my staff," she said.

Cornett, who got 73 percent of the vote in defeating Gainesville attorney Dan Sammons, will have been in office 20 years at the completion of her new term.

Turnout in Hall County was 14.26 percent. The Hall County Elections Office reported that 10,543 votes were cast out of 73,955 registered voters.