The incumbents swept the Ringgold Municipal General Election.
For Mayor — Nick Millwood (I) received 283 votes, or 54 percent of 530 total ballots Randall Franks received 240 votes, or 46 percent.
For City Council At Large — Sara S. Clark (I) received 412 votes, or 31 percent of 530 total ballots. Jake C. Haynes (I) received 412 votes, or 31 percent. Mitchell Marchus received 148 votes, or 11 percent. Rhonda Swaney (I) received 372 votes, or 28 percent.
The City Council race was the best three of four candidates.
Chickamauga has a new mayor and a 19-year-old councilman.
Trey Deck was chosen mayor over incumbent Randal Dalton by 16 votes. It was Deck 336 and Dalton 320.
Matt Nave, a recent Gordon Lee graduate, was the top vote-getter out of four candidates for two council seats. It was Nave 364, Lee Miller 353, Daymon Garrett 321 and James Powell 149.
In Dalton, former council member Annalee Harlan Sans won the mayor's race. She had 1,906 votes, or 68 percent of the total. Tom Causby had 819 and Jason Burgin 65.
In the contest for Alderman Ward 2, it was Nicholas "Nicky" Lama with 1,656 votes. Tyler J. Mitchell had 509 and Peter Poclask 435.
Ms. Sams said, "I am profoundly humbled and honored by the overwhelming trust and support you have given me to be not only your next mayor, but the first female mayor in Dalton’s history. Tonight, we rejoice in more than just a victory; it's a triumph for the future of our beloved Dalton as we move forward together.
"Throughout this campaign, my message has centered on a positive vision, building on the remarkable successes of our current leadership. The voters have graciously concurred with this vision, affirming our shared commitment to 'Keep Making Good Things Happen in Dalton.'
"As we look ahead, I look forward to the opportunity to collaborate with the City Council in my role as Mayor. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to our new Council member, Nicky Lama. Also would like to congratulate Tyree Goodlett and Dennis Mock on their re-election to the city council. Together, we'll forge a powerful team dedicated to Dalton.
"I must express my deepest gratitude to all who voted for me, generously contributed to our campaign, and volunteered to amplify our message. It's your unwavering support that has made this happen. Thank you, Dalton, for this resounding mandate and for entrusting me with the privilege of serving you as your mayor."
"I honestly was speechless last night. It felt great," Mr. Lama said on Wednesday. "We put in a lot of hard work and I had a lot of support from family, friends, and many people in the community who were supporting me. And of course, thanking them was the biggest thing and I’m just proud to be able to have the opportunity to serve our community."
"I’m very excited to be able to work with our current council and continue the good things that Dalton has been working on," he said.
Because he is being elected to serve out an unexpired term, Mr. Lama will be sworn in at the next council meeting on Nov. 27. The regularly scheduled meeting on Nov. 20 has been canceled to allow officials and staff to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday.
There will be a runoff in the race for the Dalton Public Schools Board currently held by John “Tulley” Johnson. Because no candidate received the minimum of 50 percent of the vote, state law requires a runoff between the top two finishers in the general election. John “Tulley” Johnson and Laura Orr will be the candidates in the runoff election which will be held on Dec. 5.
Three candidates qualified to run for the seat in this year’s election. John “Tulley” Johnson received 1,237 votes, according to data from the Whitfield County Board of Elections, good enough for 45.28 percent of the vote. Laura Orr finished second with 1,104 votes, or 40.41 percent of the ballots cast. Dr. Pablo Perez finished third with 391 votes and will not be on the runoff ballot.