Newly Elected Officials Sworn in to Seminole City Council

SEMINOLE — Chris Burke was named vice mayor of the Seminole City Council at the Nov. 26 council meeting.

Three councilors — Burke, Thomas Barnhorn and Bob Matthews — nominated themselves for the position.

In the first council vote, Burke and Matthews tied with three votes while Barnhorn received one.

In the second vote, between the top two vote-getters, Burke received four votes and Matthews received three.

At the same meeting, the city’s newly elected officials, Mayor Leslie Waters and Councilors Barnhorn and Jim Olliver, were sworn in. Judge Theodora C. Komninos presided over the Oath of Office.

Waters and Barnhorn were re-elected to their positions in the Nov. 5 election. Olliver is serving on the council for the first time.

In the mayoral race, Waters took home 67 percent of the vote (2,201 votes) to defeat her opponent, Darren Clark. Clark received 33 percent of the vote (1,098 votes).

Olliver and Barnhorn were the top two vote-getters, winning two at-large council seats. Olliver received 37 percent of the vote (1,886 votes), while Barnhorn received 33 percent (1,675 votes). Their opponent, candidate Kelly Wissing, received 30 percent of the vote (1,544 votes).

Former councilor Jim Quinn, who did not seek re-election this year, congratulated Waters, Barnhorn and Olliver during the public comments portion of the meeting.

“I want to thank the voters of the city of Seminole for continuing the work that’s being done in this city by this group of people,” he said. “We have a great city. I’ve enjoyed my time up there with you folks.”

SOURCE: tbnweekly.com