Morgan County has two new commissioners following Tuesday’s special election.
Former Madison police officer Carl Jones, a Democrat, beat Republican Ed Latham and Democrat Cedric Robertson for the County Commission District 1 seat. Jones won with 58.19 percent of the vote (302), while Latham received 24.86 percent (129) and Robertson received 16.96 percent (88).
Republican Nathan Park, a volunteer firefighter and consultant with the Georgia Department of Transportation, beat Democrat Claudia Crenshaw and Independent Zeke Lambert for the County Commission District 5 seat. Park received 60.29 percent of the vote (369), while Lambert received 31.37 percent and Crenshaw received 8.33 percent.
Retired Morgan County High School Principal Jim Malanowski, a board member of entrepreneurial hub The Wheelhouse, handily beat Tim Robinson for the Madison City Council District 3 seat. Malanowski won with 70.9 percent of the vote (134), compared to Robinson’s 29.1 percent (55).
Each race in Morgan County recorded low voter turnout. The Madison City Council race yielded the highest turnout at 24.71 percent. In both commission races, less than 18 percent of eligible voters cast ballots, with the District 1 race yielding 17.49 percent and District 5 yielding 17.55 percent.
In Greene County, SPLOST No. 8 passed with about 70.35 percent of the vote (605). SPLOST No. 8 will take effect Jan. 1, 2027.
Only 5.26 percent of Greene’s voting population cast their ballots during the special election.