The Aug. 7 state primary and general municipal election has come and gone, without much public uproar, despite the fact that several of the positions in question have a direct bearing on the daily lives of Rutherford County residents.
Just 8.7 percent of the county’s registered voters cast their vote. At election time 133,100 people were registered to vote in Rutherford County, 11,558 total ballots were cast, and almost half of those were early or absentee votes.
Election Administrator Hooper Penuel said his staff can expect a 180-degree change in this year’s fourth and final election on Nov. 4.
Despite the lull, there was at least one big upset. Bill D. Boner edged out incumbent property assessor John Barbee by about 400 votes, an unprecedented political happening that wasn’t even predicted by Murfreesboro’s City Caf’ poll.
In the hotly contested race for retiring Republican State Rep. John Hood’s seat in the 48th District, Joe Carr won the GOP nomination, receiving just 120 votes more than contender Lou Ann Zelenik. Carr will face Democratic hopeful Tim Tipps.
Murfreesboro doctor Rishi Saxena will be facing Republican incumbent Donna Rowland in the battle for the 34th District. Rick Womick will square off against Democratic incumbent Kent Coleman for the 49th District. And Republican Jim Tracy will face Democratic candidate Jean Ann Rogers in the race for the 16th State Senate District.
For a complete list of election results visit the Rutherford County Election Commission online, or go to rutherfordcounty.org/
election/elections/08-07-08.
Three elections down, one to go. Oct. 6 is the last day to register to vote in the Nov. 4 State General election where the President and Vice President of the United States, U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, the even districts in the Tennessee Senate, and the Tennessee House of Representatives will be decided.