Finley elected mayor; two runoffs for council

Mayor-elect Paul Finley embraces his wife, Dr. Julie Finley, at their campaign headquarters as election totals show his victory. CONTRIBUTED

MADISON – After a long, hot summer of vigorous campaigning, Madison elected a new mayor and decided on representatives for Madison City Council.

In a stunning landslide, Paul Finley defeated incumbent mayor Troy Trulock. Hanu Karlapalem was a distant third. Finley received 6267 votes, while Trulock took 2996 and Karlapalem tallied 782.

Trulock conceded early in the evening and congratulated Finley on his victory. “Although the results were not in our favor last night, we send our best wishes to the Finley team. I am very proud of what we have accomplished over the past four years and am honored to have had the opportunity to serve you as your mayor,” Trulock said in a Facebook post.

At his campaign headquarters on Hughes Road on election night, Finley first recognized his wife Dr. Julie Finley, their three sons, his sister and his 80-year-old mother. Finley also acknowledged his former aide, Taylor Edge, and supporter Larry Miles.

“I can’t be more proud to be your mayor … soon. We were told in Troy’s case that we would have a good transition. We will do everything we can to have that. When we come into office, it’s time to go to work,” Paul Finley said.

“Sometimes, it’s daunting to hear the things that go on in this city, but there are so many leaders in this room that in turn will be a part of what’s going on,” Finley said. “Most importantly, we will get results. It’s rare that you can beat a sitting mayor one time, and we’ve done it twice.”

For District 1 in Madison City Council, Maura Wroblewski with 609 votes will enter a runoff with James Ross with 396 votes. Buck Clemons received 266 votes. Incumbent Tim Holcombe did not run for re-election.

In District 2, Steve Smith won his re-election bid with 1242 votes, compared to Devinti M. Williams at 611.

Teddy Powell defeated incumbent D.J. Klein for District 3. Powell had 514 votes, compared to 386 for Klein.

In District 4, Greg Shaw received 676 votes to fill the seat vacated by incumbent Mike Potter who did not run. Brad Johnson tallied 372 votes, and Len Bullington gathered 62.
Len Bullington 62

For his fourth term, incumbent Tommy Overcash again will represent District 5. Opponent Dan Shanahan received 628 votes to Overcash’s total of 928.

Another returning incumbent, Gerald Clark will continue to serve District 6. Clark got 824 votes, compared to Karen Denzine at 301 and Kat Norman at 218.

In District 7, a runoff will see John Seifert and Lena Sledge vie for the office. Seifert earned 755, Sledge had 524 and Tommy Whitten received 474 votes. Incumbent Ronica Ondocsin did not seek re-election.

To avoid a runoff, a candidate must received 50 percent of the votes, plus one vote. The run-off election will be held on Oct. 4.

The election returns are provisional, in advance of canvass of votes on Aug. 30.

For more information, visit madisoncountyvotes.com.