Newton Citizen

Staff Photo: Sue Ann Kuhn-Smith Ronnie Johnston hugs his daughters Sidney and Katie after winning his bid for Covington mayor. Johnston said he could not have been successful without his wife Kelley, also his campaign manager. 

COVINGTON - Ronnie Johnston will be Covington's next mayor.

Johnston handily beat opponent Bobby Sigman with 77.36 percent of the vote in Tuesday's Municipal Election, according to unofficial results posted by the Newton County Board of Elections.

? Ronnie Johnston

1,032

Bobby Sigman

282

Write-in

20

City Council Post 2, East Ward

Ronald Martin

416

? Mike Whatley (i)

433

City Council Post 3, East Ward

Lamar Brown

419

? Keith Dalton (i)

440

Sunday Alcohol Sales

? Yes

868

No

451

Johnston had 1,032 votes to Sigman's 282. There were 20 write-in votes. Tim Walden was the only candidate to qualify as a write-in.

"I am extremely excited and very honored to have the opportunity to be mayor of Covington. I want to thank all the citizens for the overwhelming support and trust they put in me," Johnston said.

Sigman could not be reached for comment.

Both council races were tight, but the incumbents ultimately prevailed.

In the Post 2, East Ward race, incumbent Mike Whatley barely bested Ron Martin with 50.88 percent of the vote. Whatley won by 17 votes, getting 433 votes to Martin's 416. There were two write-in votes.

"Of course I would love to thank each and every one of my supporters that got out and voted today. It took every single vote to win," Whatley said.

Whatley congratulated his opponent for running "a clean and professional race."

Martin could not be reached for comment.

Incumbent Keith Dalton beat Lamar Brown in the Post 3, East Ward race by 21 votes, getting 440 votes to Brown's 419. There were two write-in votes.

"I want to thank everybody who supported and voted for me," Dalton said. "I appreciate it with all my heart. We are excited to be able to serve the citizens of Covington for four more years."

Brown also thanked his supporters.

"When I first started this journey I didn't know what to expect. As soon as I put my name out there the supporters started coming out of the woodwork. I'm overjoyed at the amount of support I received," he said.

Brown said he was discouraged by the low voter turnout of 21.4 percent.

A total of 1,364 votes were cast. Covington has 6,372 registered voters.

Voters approved Sunday package sales of alcohol by a 65.81 percent majority.