Joe Mezzanotte will fill the Post 2 seat on the Flowery Branch City Council following Tuesday's special election, according to unofficial results released by Hall County Elections.
Mezzanotte won with about 67.18% of the vote, receiving 174 of the overall 259 votes. Mezzanotte's opponent, Jennifer Sudderth, received about 32.81% of the vote, with 85 votes.
"I was pleased that we got out there and were able to do this, because it's something that I decided I wanted to do five or six months ago, and so to have it work out is great," Mezzanotte said.
92 Flowery Branch citizens voted on election day, while 167 participated in early voting in the weeks leading up to election day, according to the unofficial results released shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday.
The Post 2 seat was unfilled for several months following Ed Asbridge's resignation from the seat in August 2021. Asbridge resigned from the Post 2 seat to run for mayor, a seat which he now holds.
Mezzanotte is the third new member on the city council in recent months, following the election of William McDaniel to the Post 3 seat and Oliver McClellan to the Post 5 seat in November 2021. He is a political newcomer who has lived in the Sterling on the Lake subdivision in Flowery Branch for about four years. He has served on the homeowners association of the subdivision and was involved with the neighborhood's finances while serving.
Mezzanotte's time on the Sterling on the Lake HOA created concerns related to developers and contractors in the city. Prior to the special election, he told AccessWDUN that he wanted to make sure developers and contractors stayed in compliance with their agreements with the city if elected to the city council.
Flowery Branch City Clerk Shelia Cooper told AccessWDUN official results could be released as soon as Thursday if there are no provisional votes. While a Flowery Branch City Council meeting is scheduled for Thursday evening, Cooper said Mezzanotte will likely not be sworn in until the council's meeting on April 7.
