Three temporary appointments to the Carter County Commission are now official as Dr. Robert Acuff, Kelly Collins, and Bradley Johnson won the county’s general election for seats representing three separate districts.
Acuff, Collins and Johnson will hold their respective seats until the next election for the Carter County Commission in 2018.
Collins was appointed to the Commission by members of the county’s governing body to fill an unexpired term for the county’s 8th District. That vacancy was created in Feb. 2016 when former Commissioner Robert Gobble retired citing health reasons.
Collins narrowly edged out Rick Richardson to earn the appointment by the Commission. On Thursday night, Collins faced off against Richardson again.
When the early voting results were tabulated, Collins took a lead in the race and she maintained that through the end, winning not only the early voting numbers but also both of the 8th District’s precincts — High School and Harold McCormick. At the end of the night, Collins captured 253 votes while Richardson garnered 202.
“I’m pretty excited,” Collins said on Thursday night, adding she was looking forward to continuing to work with the Commission. “Mr. Richardson is a great person and I wish him the best. It was hard running against him because he is such a great person.”
Collins said she wants to continue to focus on doing her best to serve the citizens on the Commission.
“If anything comes up I want to make sure I research it so I can make the best decision. I think that’s important,” she said. “I want to try to make sound decisions, not just for District 8 but for the whole county.”
Acuff was first appointed to fill a seat for the county’s 1st District after former Commissioner Jerry Proffitt had to resign his post in March 2015 due to the fact he had moved outside the first district when his home was claimed as part of the runway expansion at the Elizabethton Airport.
In the Primary Election held in March of this year, Acuff fended off two challengers — Robert “Bob” Robinson and Michael Warren — to secure the Republican nomination for the 1st District Commission seat. In Thursday night’s general election Acuff was unopposed.
Johnson took a seat representing the county’s 3rd District after the Commission appointed him to fill the position vacated by former Commissioner Beth Depew, who resigned in March 2015 citing work obligations.
In both the March 2016 primary and in Thursday night’s general election Johnson was unopposed.