May 19, 2017 - The City of Tenaha Council canvassed the election results which were presented by Election Judge Marie Crawford at the May 15, 2017 special called meeting with the approval of Ordinance #2015-05-015-01 - Canvass the May 6, 2017 General Election Final Results. Included in the canvassing of the election outcome was the approval of an ordinance to legalize the legal sale of beer and wine for off-premises consumption only.
Three council positions were on the ballot and Durand Steadman and Natalie Harris with the highest number of votes secured two of the council positions. A tie with 68 votes each between Craig Richard Gray and Lee Gibbs required the city to have to make a tie vote determination. However, Lee Gibbs wrote a letter withdrawing himself from the general election results which gave Craig Gray the remaining City Council position and eliminated the need for the candidates to cast lots to resolve the tie or a run-off election.
With 120 votes for and 54 votes against Local Option Election per Ordinance 2017-01-24-2, the ordinance passed to legalize the legal sale of beer and wine for off-premises consumption only. The Local Option Election per Ordinance 2017-01-24-3 failed to pass with 103 votes against and only 68 votes for the increase of the Municipal Sales and Use Tax in the City of Tenaha to a rate of 2%. The council approved to ratify the election results.
Durand Steadman, Natalie Harris, and Craig Gray were then sworn into office by Municipal Court Judge Elizabeth Swint.
Mayor Carl Jernigan moved ahead to agenda item 8, council comments, and offered Craig Gray an opportunity to speak first. Gray said, “I’m just glad to be here and will try my best to help out.”
Cliff Lloyd spoke next and welcomed the new comers to the council. Natalie Harris said a brief thank to everyone who voted in the election and that she is also glad to be here.
Durand Steadman expressed appreciation, “I would like to thank everybody that voted for me and I appreciate it and hopefully, we look like we have a good team up here, and we’ll try to get some things done around here in Tenaha. We going to work with the mayor and not against the mayor. We gonna come together as a council and work together and try to get some companies into Tenaha.
Marie Glenn then commented about an accident, “Yesterday, we had an accident and I just want to thank, man I saw [Deputy City Marshal Darren Gray] along with some of our other City Marshals that were on duty, and they secured the scene and made sure everybody was okay until the ambulance arrived and everybody was taken care of. So, I want to thank them, even though it was a holiday, they rushed to the scene to get it all taken care of and I appreciate that.”
Mayor Jernigan said, “I want to congratulate Natalie [Harris] for her re-election bid. I want to congratulate [Craig] Gray, I want to congratulate Durand [Steadman] over here and actually I want to just make a quick comment on what Durand had said. I appreciate that to no end. Without a doubt we are never going to all see eye-to-eye and that’s the purpose of a democracy and a debate but I hope we can find common ground always to work towards the betterment of the city. And I think we do have a good team and I think that everybody that’s up here wants the best for the city and that’s a good feeling.”
The meeting then adjourned at 5:35pm until the next regular scheduled meeting on May 22, 2017.
Election Results (Three (3) City Council Positions, 2-year terms) Durand Steadman - 96 votes (24 early voting, 72 election day) Natalie Harris - 69 votes (16 early voting, 53 election day) Craig Richard Gray - 68 votes (18 early voting, 50 election day) Lee Gibbs - 68 votes (15 early voting, 53 election day) *Wrote a letter removing himself from the general election. Orinthia Johnson - 62 votes (16 early voting, 46 election day) DeWayne Reese - 51 votes (13 early voting, 38 election day) 120 votes for, 54 votes against - Local Option Election per Ordinance 2017-01-24-2 -- To Legalize: The Legal Sale of Beer and Wine for Off-Premises Consumption Only 68 votes for, 103 votes against - Local Option Election per Ordinance 2017-01-24-3 -- The Increase of the Municipal Sales and Use Tax in the City of Tenaha to a Rate of 2%
