Several closely contested races highlighted Tuesday’s election in Concordia Parish, including a narrow victory in the Village of Ridgecrest mayoral race and a six-vote margin in a School Board contest.
Concordia Parish voters headed to the polls Tuesday, November 3, to decide several local elections, including seats on the Concordia Parish School Board, justice of the peace and constable positions, and municipal offices in the Village of Ridgecrest.
Unofficial results from the Louisiana Secretary of State show all precincts reporting in each of the local races.
Concordia Parish School Board
Six School Board seats appeared on Tuesday’s ballot, with several contested races across the parish.
In District 1, Place A, Glenn Henderson received the most votes in a three-candidate race, finishing with 476 votes (41%). Ernetria “Netria” Banks received 376 votes (32%), while Justin Lashan Conner, Sr. received 316 votes (27%). No candidate secured a majority of the vote.
In District 1, Place B, Valerie T. Parker defeated Michelle D. Bethea with 640 votes (63%) to Bethea’s 379 votes (37%).
The race for District 2 was among the closest of the evening. Fred Marsalis, Sr. received 301 votes (51%), narrowly defeating Raymond Riley, who received 295 votes (49%). Just six votes separated the candidates.
In District 4, Place A, Derrick D. Carson defeated Devante Scott with 666 votes (58%) to Scott’s 486 votes (42%).
In District 4, Place B, Angela Hayes received 727 votes (66%), defeating Mark Cupit, who received 378 votes (34%).
In District 5, Place A, Wayne Wilson secured 1,003 votes (80%), defeating Christopher “Chris” Lee, who received 258 votes (20%).
Justice of the Peace and Constable Races
Two justice of the peace positions and one constable position were also decided by Concordia Parish voters.
In Justice of the Peace District 5A, Yolanda Elliott McClure received 296 votes (51%), narrowly defeating Earl Banks, who received 282 votes (49%). The difference was just 14 votes.
In Justice of the Peace District 5B, Linda Shirley McMillin defeated Lee Anne Lipsey with 368 votes (56%) to Lipsey’s 287 votes (44%).
For Constable, Justice of the Peace District 3, Jack Fletcher received 838 votes (68%), defeating Susan Rabb, who received 389 votes (32%).
Village of Ridgecrest Elections
Voters in the Village of Ridgecrest selected a mayor and three aldermen.
In the mayoral race, Connie Adair defeated Veller R. Carroll by seven votes. Adair received 77 votes (52%), while Carroll received 70 votes (48%). Unofficial turnout in the mayoral election was 50.7%.
Five candidates competed for three seats on the Ridgecrest Board of Aldermen.
Bobby R. Sheppard, Sr. led the field with 108 votes, followed by Dorothy Evans with 73 votes and Larry Lawrence with 70 votes. The three were the highest vote-getters in the election.
Charles Brown received 24 votes, while Donearl Williams, Sr. received 23 votes.
Results Remain Unofficial
All election-day precincts and early and absentee votes have been reported for the local Concordia Parish contests. Results remain unofficial until the completion of the state’s certification process.
The District 1, Place A School Board race is expected to advance to a December 12 runoff between Glenn Henderson and Ernetria “Netria” Banks because neither candidate received more than 50% of the vote.
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