Dresden, Tenn.–In a hotly contested election, former State Rep. Mark Maddox handily won a five-person race for Mayor Tuesday.
Maddox, who is currently the Director of Student Services for Weakley County Schools, earned 358 votes, with 180 cast for current Mayor Jeff Washburn.
The unofficial results for all five candidates: Maddox, 358; Lyndal Dilday, 211; Washburn, 180; Mike Vernon, 125; and Brandi George, 22.
Maddox said in a Facebook post the day before the election:
“The campaign has been mostly fun for me. I enjoyed meeting people as I went door to door listening to your dreams for Dresden. I enjoyed those who’ve asked me to sit on the porch for a while or invited me for a living room chat. I wanted to spend more time with you. Thanks for understanding and pushing me to go and talk to more people.
“Thanks to all of you who have helped this campaign. Thanks for all the kindness you have shown me. Thanks to those of you excited about a Mark Maddox candidacy. The five of us running for mayor have different visions of what this city can be and how we can get there. My family and I wanted you to have a choice of a mayor that was FROM DRESDEN and was FOR DRESDEN. For us, this campaign was not about personalities or conspiracies. The campaign was about UNITY, COMMUNITY and COMMON SENSE. Hopefully, you believe in that too.”
Voters also elected two new aldermen Curtis Doran and Dale Hutcherson, who will join longtime alderman Gwin Anderson on the city board.