Voters OK sheriff's tax, back Letlow for Congress
Letlow wins congressional seat
Lincoln Parish voters on Saturday joined the rest of Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District in electing Julia Letlow their next representative.
Complete but unofficial returns show Letlow won 67% of the Lincoln Parish vote and 65% of the vote districtwide.
She will take the seat won by her late husband, Luke, in December 2020. Luke Letlow died of COVID-19 just days before he was to be sworn in. Letlow is a Republican from Richland Parish. She becomes the first Republican woman from Louisiana elected to the House.
Her closest competitor, Democrat Sandra “Candy” Christophe, of Alexandria, received 29% of the Lincoln Parish vote, and 27% districtwide. Christophe was the only Democrat in the race.
Letlow took a wide lead in the 12-candidate field early on and never lost it. Of the 6,742 votes cast in Lincoln Parish, Letlow got 4,515. Christophe received 1,968 local votes. Districtwide, Letlow polled 67,199 votes to Christophe’s 28,252.
Unofficial voter turnout was approximately 24% in Lincoln Parish and 21% districtwide.
Sheriff's office tax passes
Lincoln Parish voters have approved a property tax renewal that generates about $3.9 million annually for the parish sheriff’s office.
Complete but unofficial returns from Saturday’s election show the 7.83-mill renewal passed easily, with 68% of the vote. That translates into 4,340 votes for the 10-year tax and 2,024 votes against it.
The tax generates about 41% of the Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office budget. That money pays for most of LPSO’s operational expenses, as well as drug education, prevention and enforcement, and personnel, training and equipment.
Dubach favors Wilson for mayor
The town of Dubach will soon have its third mayor in less than a year after voters narrowly elected challenger Mona Durrett Wilson over incumbent Ruby Dawson.
Complete but unofficial returns Saturday night show Wilson with an eight-vote edge over Dawson, 95-87. Both candidates are Democrats.
Those 182 total votes constitute a 32.1% voter turnout for the town, according to the Louisiana Secretary of State’s office.
Dawson, a former member of the town council, was appointed mayor in August of 2020 after the late mayor Mary Claire Smith resigned and served as interim until an election to fill the remainder of Smith’s term could be held.
That term runs through 2022. Wilson will take office once the election results are certified.
A local realtor, Wilson said in a recent interview with the Leader that she hopes to bring new businesses to the town and work to increase its population, as well as improving Dubach’s water system.
