Groves candidate withdraws from mayor’s race
Published 9:57 am Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Staff report
Groves mayoral candidate Suzanne Williamson, who ran a close second in Nov. 6 voting against an entrenched incumbent, made a baffling withdrawal from the runoff Monday night.
In a Facebook post, Williamson said she had thought about the outcome in the race for a week before deciding to quit. The runoff date was supposed to be fixed Thursday.
Williamson, 51, said her decision was affected by the fact that voter turnout was some 40 percent.
“Our city has been under a lot of scrutiny and heavy issues for some time now and after taking the time to reflect on the outcome of the election, the fact is that the majority of the registered voters in Groves did not vote,” she wrote in her post. “And based on actual voting numbers and the results of the other positions being voted on, the people of Groves have stated with their votes that they prefer to stay with what they have.”
Williamson tallied 1,813 votes, trailing incumbent Brad Bailey, who drew 1,914 votes. Neither candidate polled 50 percent, which was required to win.
She said she believed that close count was “A win for me in my book as someone who is not a lifelong resident and who has no political experience.”