Chatham County Election 2021 results: Jackson headed to Georgia House, ESPLOST measure passes

Chatham County voters went to the polls Tuesday and cast their ballots in the 2021 municipal election.

Here are the unofficial results:

Read More: Everything voters need to know ahead of the Nov. 2 municipal elections

Georgia House District 165

The race for Georgia House District 165 is over, and former Savannah Mayor Edna Jackson will succeed longtime Rep. Mickey Stephens.

A total of 5,145 voters cast their ballot in this five-candidate race. Jackson won with 53.26% of the vote, with former Board of Elections Member Antwan Lang finishing second with 18.68%.

Jackson will finish out the term of Stephens, who died in August. The District post will be up for election again next year.

Georgia House 165: results: Edna Jackson wins outright, race won't go to runoff

More: Sabrina Greene-Kent takes aim at minimum wage, trafficking in Georgia House run

More: 'I don't know how to stop': former Savannah Mayor Edna Jackson announces House 165 run

More: Antwan Lang, youngest person to ever hold office in Chatham, is running for Georgia House

More: Georgia House 165 candidate to seek 10 p.m. curfew for Georgia's youth, Medicaid expansion

ESPLOST

Chatham County voters renewed the education penny sales tax, ESPLOST, extending the 1% collection for another five years. ESPLOST IV passed with 74% approval, the widest margin in its 20-year history. The previous best was 67% for ESPLOST II in 2011.

Put broadly, ESPLOST is one of the seven extra pennies placed on top of the price of every dollar spent on items purchased in Chatham County, and it’s a lucrative practice.

ESPLOST has generated more than $1 billion for the Savannah-Chatham County public schools over the last 15 years, and the district has used that money to eliminate bond debt, repair and modernize existing school facilities, purchase technology and school buses, and build modern buildings to replace aging ones.

Its goal is to bring in revenue for schools without having to raise local property taxes. Essentially, if you buy something in Chatham County, regardless of if you live here or not, a penny of the total cost will go to the Savannah-Chatham County public schools.

Experts call this “tax exporting” and for Chatham, being a tourist destination pays off. An estimated 35% to 40% of ESLOST revenue comes from visitors.

Opinion: Ed sales tax has modernized Savannah-Chatham schools. Should ESPLOST IV be the last?

Election results: Savannah-Chatham ESPLOST passes by widest margin yet

More: ESPLOST IV will be on the ballot for everyone in Chatham County on Nov. 2. But what is ESPLOST?

Municipal Elections

More: Here is who qualified for the Chatham County municipal elections scheduled for Nov. 2

Tybee Island

Brian West was the top vote getter in the Tybee City Council election Tuesday, winning a seat in his second foray into politics.

West, who ran unsuccessfully in 2019, will be joined by incumbents Michael “Spec” Hosti and Monty Parks, who claimed the other two posts up for election.

West received 729 votes followed by Hosti with 655 and Parks with 612. The field featured six candidates, with the top three winning election. Among those who finished outside the top-three was Mack Kitchens, who made headlines last year for rescuing a drowning swimmer off of Tybee's south beach.

Election 2021: Newcomer joins incumbents in winning Tybee Council seats

More: Mack Kitchens saved a drowning girl's life. Does that make him more electable on Tybee?

More: Tybee City Council candidates forum: Hopefuls address STVR regulations, sustainability

Port Wentworth

Port Wentworth residents voted for three newcomers and no incumbents to its council.

Jo Smith took the at-large seat with about 57% of the votes, unseating incumbent Linda Smith.

Gabrielle Nelson won District 1 with 64% of the vote, beating challenger Alfonso Ribot. The seat was previously empty.

Rufus Bright, who sat on the city's Planning Commission for six years, leads the District 3 race with 44% of the vote. Janet Hester followed behind with 35% and incumbent Lynwood Griner had 20%.

Incumbent mayor, Gary Norton, wins by default as his only challenger, Julius Hall was disqualified based on his past felony conviction.

The city, which doubled in size over the past decade, will be dealing with growing pains of all kinds — industrial, residential and commercial. Both Nelson, who will have to give up her Planning Commission seat, and Jo Smith, a small business owner who has experience dealing with government contracts, have vowed to fight against quality of life issues brought on by industrial growth.

With three new faces, Port Wentworth residents will be anticipating a transition into the new set of council members. In the past, the council has been marred with infighting and delays, which begs the question: how will the city's local government dynamic change in this next term?

Voter turnout for Port Wentworth was at 25% with 1,820 votes casted out of 7,219 eligible.

Election results: Incumbents ousted in Port Wentworth city council races

More: Port Wentworth council forum: Candidates talk growth, infrastructure and recreation

More: Port Wentworth will host an election forum next week. None of the incumbents will show up.

More: Port Wentworth code enforcement officers were removing campaign signs. Here's why.

More: Julius Hall had his civil rights restored, why doesn't that guarantee he can run for local office?

More: Port Wentworth District 1 candidates Gabrielle Nelson and Alfonso Ribot announce run

Garden City

Incumbents and a familiar face made up the winners in Garden City.

Kim Tice, a two-term incumbent, defended her District 5 council seat in the most competitive race in the 2021 municipal elections.

Bruce A. Campbell, who once served on council, won the at-large seat with 61%, beating newcomer challenger Donna Williams.

Marcia Daniel, the incumbent in District 1, ran unopposed. She has served on council since 2014.

In the District 5 race, Tice won 53% (204) of the vote, with Corey Foreman trailing at about 25% (97). Other candidates in the field include Todd Payne and Chris Figiel, who both received about 10% of the vote.

The at-large winner, Campbell, is a 30-year resident of Garden City and a pastor of the Oak Grove Missionary Church. He previously served on council from 2011 to 2020, but lost 2019’s election. Campbell had the support of current Mayor Don Bethune and Tice during this year’s race.

Garden City saw about a 23% voter turnout on Tuesday.

Election results: In Garden City, incumbent wins third term while past council member makes a return

More: 'Wish we had more choices': Garden City council candidates must address livability issues

More: Garden City council candidate facing complaint after offering to buy opponent out of race

Bloomingdale

Dennis Baxter unseated three-term Bloomingdale Mayor Ben Rozier in Tuesday’s election, receiving 67.70% of the vote.

In the Bloomingdale council race, Terry Jones, Glenda Key and Rodney West claimed city council seats along with incumbents Ernest C. Grizzard, Jim Kerby and David Otakie. Bloomingdale elects its council members at-large, with the top six vote getters winning posts. Key drew the most votes with 286.

Election results: Controversial Bloomingdale mayor ousted by council member Dennis Baxter

More: Bloomingdale's growth, not the mayor's racial insensitivity, driving election conversation

Thunderbolt

Thunderbolt has a new mayor and a couple of new council members.

Dana Williams defeated incumbent Beth Goette with 61.61% of the vote to Goette's 38.39%.

The race for Thunderbolt City Council wasn't really a race, as only six candidates qualified to run for six spots.

Incumbents Brooks Barbaree, David Crenshaw, Edward Drohann III and Lawrence Ward will be joined by newcomers James P. Lavin and Bethany Skipper.

Election results: New mayor to lead Thunderbolt as Williams defeats Goette soundly

Nancy Guan is the general assignment reporter covering Chatham County municipalities. Reach her at nguan@gannett.com or on Twitter @nancyguann.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Chatham County GA elections: Here are results for local races