A few of the residents of the cities of Rockdale and Thorndale elected council members Saturday.
Rockdale voters, 83 in all, selected Scott Starnes to fill the east side seat that was up for grabs in the vote. Starnes got 54 of the 83 votes cast in eight days of voting while incumbent Ricky Coppedge got 29.
Starnes said he is ready to get to work to serve the people of Rockdale.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity the citizens have bestowed upon me and I look forward to working with the council in moving the city forward in a positive direction,” Starnes said.
Coppedge said he will still be a member of the MDD board and was thankful for his three years on the council.
“I’m very appreciative of the residents of Rockdale for my term in office. I hope that my tenure is seen as positive and effective,” Coppedge said. “I believe I was a part of some tremendous projects including the splash pad at Sumeul Park, the veterans memorial, and the current water infrastructure project. My term has been an amazing and monumental experience for my family and myself. I hope to further serve my community in the future.
In Thorndale there was a three-way race for two seats on the council.
Incumbent Jared Melde won reelection with 64 votes while former mayor and council member Gerald Niemtschk was returned to the council with 46 votes. The third candidate in the race, Sam Pickett, drew 39 votes.
George Galbreath will serve another term as mayor of Thorndale as he had no opposition in polling 73 votes.
Thorndale voters also also passed a referendum authorizing a local sales and use tax of 1/4 percent to continue providing revenue for maintenance and repair of municipal streets. The old authorization expires Sept. 30 and the new order will then take effect.
The vote totals are unofficial until they are canvassed.
Rockdale will canvass the votes at the next City Council meeting May 10 and Thorndale will do the same at its May 12 council meeting
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