Runoff: Freeman, Bartie to vie for Port Arthur mayor’s seat
Published 10:03 pm Saturday, May 4, 2019
By Ken Stickney
Incumbent Port Arthur Mayor Derrick Ford Freeman and Thurman “Bill” Bartie, a former justice of the peace, will compete June 22 in a runoff election for a three-year term as mayor.
Complete but unofficial voting totals showed these results:
- Derrick Ford Freeman, 1,381
- Thurman “Bill” Bartie, 975
- Charles “Chuck” Vincent, 773
- Willie “Bae” Lewis, 739
- Lowra Harrison, 74
Voter turnout was about 13%.
“I’m highly thankful to God, first, and to the citizens who cast their ballots,” said Bartie, who emerged from the pack of four challengers to capture the second spot in the June 22 runoff.
Bartie won 634 early votes — that was about a quarter of those cast — to place second only to Freeman’s 887 early votes, showing the benefits of his prior campaign experience.
“I ask those who cast their ballots to return and others to join us,” he said.
Freeman, reached late Saturday, said he was neither surprised nor disappointed to be in a runoff, although he said he would have preferred to win outright.
“We wanted to finish tonight,” he said, noting that this is their third runoff campaign he will wage in city elections. “We’re used to it.”
Earlier Saturday, Freeman had expressed confidence that he was having a good day at the polls, and the numbers seemed to bear him out: He finished first both in early voting and in Saturday voting.
“We’ve seen a lot of our supporters voting today, which we believe is verification that what we are doing is right,” Freeman said.
He said he would enjoy meeting and engaging with voters during the six-week runoff campaign.
While Freeman expressed confidence about his campaign, rival and former City Councilmember Willie “Bae” Lewis said earlier Saturday that he expected to win without a runoff. He said he put special emphasis on early voting and mail balloting, and said that would put him in the driver’s seat when votes were counted. He suggested Freeman would not make a runoff and would be lucky to finish fourth, which is the position where Lewis finished in the voting.
Chuck Vincent said earlier Saturday that turnout in his apparent stronghold in Port Acres, where he lives and is active in community affairs, was “steady.” That would likely catapult him into a runoff if no clear winner were declared on voting day, he said.
Instead, the first-time candidate finished third, 202 votes behind Bartie.
Vote totals will be unofficial until May 15, when the City Council will canvass the election in a special meeting.
