It appears Criminal Court Judge Lillie Ann Sells, the apparent loser in her re-election bid last Thursday, is not going down without a fight…a court fight!
The Herald-Citizen of Cookeville is reporting that Judge Sells has confirmed that she is planning to file a lawsuit contesting the results of the election.
Final totals district-wide gave her opponent David A. Patterson, an Independent candidate, nine more votes than she received out of more than 40,000 votes cast.
After the votes were counted district wide on Thursday night, Patterson had a six vote lead over Sells, 20,102 to 20,096 but on Friday when the “provisional” ballots were examined in the counties that had them, Patterson had picked up four more votes to one additional vote for Sells increasing Patterson’s lead to nine votes.
The count, apparently as it stands now, is 20,106 for Patterson and 20,097 for Sells
Patterson currently serves as an Assistant District Attorney in the Office of Attorney General William A. ” Bill” Gibson of Cookeville.
According to the Herald Citizen report, Judge Sells said Monday that “she is working with a Nashville attorney in planning a suit seeking a review of the election results. Such a review could result in a recount of the votes.”
The report says “State law allows for a court filing to contest election results, and that would be filed in Chancery Court and reportedly would have to allege some specific reason for seeking a recount.”
Tag Archives: 2006
City Board Votes To Remove Three Speed Humps On West Main Street
The three speed humps on West Main Street between Juniper Lane and the four way stop at North Mountain Street will soon be gone.
The Smithville Board of Aldermen Monday night voted to remove them, apparently bowing to public pressure.
Aldermen Stephen White, W.J. “Dub” White, and Cecil Burger voted for the removal of the speed humps. Aldermen Paul Young and Aaron Meeks “passed” when their names were called to vote on the issue.
The city board, earlier this year at the request of several residents in the area, voted to install the speed humps as a pilot project, but since they were put down most of the aldermen say they have heard nothing but complaints from the public, who often travel the street going to and from the downtown business district.
Residents in the neighborhood, including Bert Driver, Ruth Johns, and others, told the Mayor and Aldermen Monday night that the speed humps have been very effective in slowing traffic on a street where speeding has been a problem and the posted speed limit is 15 miles per hour. They asked that the speed humps not be removed.
Two Smithville residents, who don’t live on West Main Street, but who own property in town, expressed opposing views on the issue during the meeting Monday night.
William McKinley Jones spoke out against the speed humps, but former Smithville Mayor Waniford Cantrell said he thought the speed humps should be kept there and asked that another one be installed on the east side of the West Main Street bridge.
Mary McCoy presented a petition to the Aldermen, signed by several residents in the Smith Road area, asking that speed humps be installed on their street because of the speeding problem on that narrow and winding road.
However rather than put down more speed humps, city officials are searching for alternative solutions and Monday night Smithville Police Chief Gus Clemente and the department’s new Public Information Officer Tom Stufano pledged a stepped up enforcement campaign on streets with the most problems with speeding.
Yet some question how effective the extra patrols can be with only two to three officers on duty per shift.
Beulah Belle Jennings
93 year old Beulah Belle “Shorty” Jennings of Alexandria died Sunday at her residence. She was a teacher and a member of the New Hope Baptist Church. She was born in Burkesville, Kentucky. The funeral will be Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. at the chapel of Anderson Funeral Home in Alexandria. Ronnie Smith will officiate. Burial will be in the Vanatta Cemetery. Visitation will be Tuesday from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the service. She was preceded in death by her parents, Walter and Ada Kate Wisdom Mayfield; her husband, Charles P. Jennings; daughters, Jolene and Charlene Jennings; a son, Bill Jennings; a sister, Clara; a half-sister, Louise; and brothers, Walter, Edward,and Lawrence. She is survived by children, Daris and her husband Jimmy Mullinax and Bob and his wife Cheryl Jennings all of Alexandria. A half-sister, Betty Coleman of Celina. Grandchildren, Ria and her husband Ricky Baker of Alexandria, Beki and her husband John Scott Morgan of Huntsville, Alabama, Stacy and her husband Dewayne Martin of Alexandria, Bryan and his wife Tonya Jennings of Grant, Mike and his wife Leslie Emmy of Lebanon, Angie and her husband Mike Choate of Cookeville, and Dustin Jennings, Christopher Jennings, and Crystal Jennings all of Panama City, Florida. Great grandchildren, Tori and Derrick Baker and Zack and Ethan Martin all of Alexandria, Allie and Grayson Emmy of Lebanon, Haley and Katie Choate of Cookeville, and Josie and Hannah Jennings of Grant. Several nieces and nephews also survive. Anderson Funeral Home in Alexandria is in charge of the arrangements.
Wilburn Braswell
92 year old Wilburn Braswell of Smithville died Saturday at NHC Healthcare Center in Smithville. He was a farmer, nurseryman, and a member of the Smithville First Baptist Church. A graveside service will be held Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. at DeKalb Memorial Gardens. Freddy Curtis will officiate. He was preceded in death by his wife, Frances Braswell; his parents, Matthew Allan and Minnie Lafever Braswell; brothers, Vallas, Lloyd, Clarence, Vestal, Gerald, M.A. and Jewell Braswell; and a sister, Lillie Mae Braswell Cantrell. Survivors include a son, W.C. Braswell, Jr. of Smithville. A brother, Maurice and his wife Elsie Braswell of Smithville. Three grandchildren, John and his wife Melissa Braswell and Heath Braswell all of Nashville, and Holly and her husband Phillip Hendrix of Smithville. Great grandchildren, Holden and Grayson Hendrix of Smithville. Jakeb Braswell of Nashville, and Victoria Cantrell of Tampa, Florida. The family requests that donations be made to the Smithville First Baptist Church Building Fund, in lieu of flowers. DeKalb Funeral Chapel is in charge of the arrangements.
District Returns Give Patterson Six Vote Edge Over Sells In Judge Race
Uncertified election returns from all seven counties in the 13th Judicial District show that David Patterson has edged Incumbent Criminal Court Judge Lillie Ann Sells by six votes out of over 40,000 votes cast district wide.
Totals show Patterson with 20,102 votes and Sells has 20,096.
The following are the uncertified results from each county as provided to WJLE Friday morning by each county election commission
DeKalb: Sells- 1,822, Patterson- 1,234
Putnam: Patterson- 7,608, Sells- 4,152
Overton: Sells- 2,791, Patterson- 2,213
White: Sells- 3,465, Patterson- 2,436
Clay: Sells -1,216, Patterson- 749
Pickett: Sells- 1,346, Patterson 867
Cumberland: Sells- 5,304, Patterson- 4,995.
Thurman Elected Chancellor In 13th Judicial District
Democrat Ron Thurman carried five of the seven counties in the 13th Judicial District Thursday and defeated Republican Jerry Burgess in the race for Chancellor, succeeding the retiring Vernon Neal.
Thurman received a total of 20,922 votes to 13,373 votes for Burgess.
Thurman carried DeKalb County 1,388 to 976; White County 3,276 to 1,954; Putnam County 7,552 to 3,422; Clay County 439 to 290; and Overton County 3,024 to 1,109.
Burgess carried Cumberland County 4,693 to 4,370 and Pickett County 929 to 873.
Rochelle Carries DeKalb In State Senate Primary Race
Former State Senator Bob Rochelle beat Aubrey T. Givens in a primary battle Thursday for the right to take on Republican Incumbent Senator Mae Beavers in November.
In DeKalb County Rochelle won 877(54%) to 734 (45%)
Beavers, who ran unopposed for the GOP nomination, received 819 complimentary votes in DeKalb County.
Rochelle carried the following DeKalb County precincts: Alexandria- 66 to 60, Edgar Evins State Park- 7 to 2, Dowelltown- 29 to 21, Courthouse 67 to 57, Johnson’s Chapel- 17 to 14, Blue Springs- 25 to 23, and Early Voting 376 to 235. Rochelle had 18 absentees.
Givens carried the following DeKalb County precincts: Temperance Hall- 26 to 21, Liberty- 22 to 16, Snow Hill- 22 to 18, Middle School 60 to 58, Cherry Hill 7 to 6, Rock Castle 9 to 8, Elementary School- 55 to 53, Keltonburg- 33 to 24, and Church of Christ Annex 54 to 43. Givens had 9 absentees.
Rochelle and Givens tied at 25 each at Belk.
Meanwhile, Democratic State Representative Frank Buck, who ran unopposed in the primary Thursday, received 1,784 complimentary votes in DeKalb County while his November challenger, Republican Terri Lynn Weaver, got 629 complimentary DeKalb County votes. She was unopposed in the GOP Primary.
In other races, 6th District Democratic Congressman Bart Gordon defeated his primary challenger J. Patrick Lyons on Thursday.
Gordon received 1,969 DeKalb County votes to 151 for Lyons.
Republican David R. Davis, who was unopposed in the GOP primary, received 554 votes here. Davis will face Gordon in the November General Election.
In the U.S. Senate Primaries, DeKalb County voters choose Harold Ford, Jr. as the their favorite Democrat and Bob Corker as their favorite Republican.
In DeKalb County Ford received, 1,346 votes followed by Gary G. Davis with 221 votes, John Jay Hooker with 189, Charles E. Smith with 70, and Al Strauss with 27 votes.
In the GOP primary, Corker got 476 DeKalb County votes, followed by Ed Bryant with 303, Van Hilleary with 261, and Tate Harrison with 10.
Corker and Ford will square off in the November General Election. The winner will succeed Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Bill Frist, who did not seek re-election.
In the Governor primary races, Democratic Incumbent Phil Bredesen received 1,755 DeKalb County votes followed by John Jay Hooker with 207, Tim Sevier with 111, and Walt Ward with 27.
In the Republican primary for Governor, Jim Bryson received 357 DeKalb County votes followed by David M. Farmer with 80, Joe Kirkpatrick with 58, Wayne Thomas Bailey with 49, Mark Albertini with 47, Wayne Young 25, and Timothy Thomas with 20.
Bryson will try to unseat Bredesen in the November General Election.
Patrick Ray Elected DeKalb County Sheriff
The next Sheriff of DeKalb County will be Patrick Ray.
Ray, a Republican, defeated Democratic nominee Myron Rhody in Thursday’s DeKalb County General Election by a final count of 2,584 (54%) to 2,159 (45%), a difference of 425 votes.
Ray carried eleven of the sixteen precincts in DeKalb County including Alexandria- 175 to 108, Temperance Hall- 64 to 54, Edgar Evins State Park- 15 to 12, Liberty- 119 to 49, Dowelltown 76 to 54, Cherry Hill- 30 to 11, Courthouse -134 to 131, Johnson’s Chapel- 89 to 33, Elementary School- 128 to 123, Blue Springs- 89 to 74, Church of Christ Annex- 163 to 137, and Early Voting- 1,053 to 846. Ray had 43 absentees.
Rhody carried five precincts including Snow Hill- 88 to 82, Middle School 192 to 162, Rock Castle 23 to 22, Belk 75 to 70, and Keltonburg 86 to 70. Rhody had 63 absentees.
Ray, a Chief Deputy under the administration of former Sheriff Kenneth Pack, will succeed incumbent Sheriff Lloyd Emmons on September 1st. Ray currently works for the Warren County Sheriff’s Department.
Sean Driver Easily Wins Trustee Office
Sean Driver won a decisive victory in his race for DeKalb County Trustee Thursday.
Driver, a Republican, defeated Democratic nominee Anthony (Doc) Green 3, 065 (72%) to 1,161 (27%).
Driver carried all sixteen precincts including Alexandria- 217 to 41, Temperance Hall- 82 to 14, Edgar Evins State Park 16 to 5, Liberty- 143 to17, Dowelltown- 101 to 25, Snow Hill- 133 to 25, Middle School- 230 to 79, Cherry Hill- 25 to 11, Rock Castle- 32 to 12, Courthouse- 163 to 77, Johnson’s Chapel- 79 to 21, Elementary School- 131 to 93, Blue Springs- 96 to 47, Belk- 69 to 47, Keltonburg- 67 to 60, Church of Christ Annex- 164 to 94, and Early Voting- 1, 253 to 470. Driver had 64 absentees to 23 for Green.
Driver will succeed Bobbie Young as Trustee. Young, who was first elected in 1986 will be completing her fifth term on August 31st.
Referendum To Raise Local Sales Tax Rate Loses At Polls
When asked in Thursday’s election whether the local option sales tax should be increased from 1.5% to 2.75%, DeKalb County voters said “No”.
The referendum failed by a vote of 1,898 (53%) to 1,646 (46%), a difference of 252 votes.
The question failed in all but three precincts, Liberty, Middle School, and Rock Castle and the vote on the referendum at the courthouse ended in a tie.
County officials say passage of the referendum would have meant more funds for local governments. A majority of the extra revenue would have been earmarked for schools.
The following is a breakdown of the “For” and “Against” vote by precinct:
Alexandria: 108-for, 115-against
Temperance Hall: 38-for, 53-against
Edgar Evins State Park: 6-for, 16-against
Liberty: 75-for, 72-against
Dowelltown: 44-for, 53-against
Snow Hill: 61-for, 78-against
Middle School: 136-for, 118 against
Cherry Hill: 16-for, 19-against
Rock Castle: 28-for, 19-against
Courthouse: 103-for, 103-against
Johnson’s Chapel: 20-for, 77-against
Elementary School: 96-for, 101-against
Belk: 46-for, 49-against
Keltonburg: 46-for, 58 against
Blue Springs: 49-for, 81-against
Church of Christ Annex: 70-for, 114-against
Early Voting& Absentees: 704-for, 772-against