Linden voters elect new councilmembers

Three seats on the Linden City Council were decided Tuesday, Nov. 3, by voters. All seats on the council are “at-large” and ranked in order of votes received.

Of the seven candidates on the ballot, Mary Dowd with 344 votes, James Johnson with 280 votes and Chuck Evans, the only incumbent, with 258 votes will take their seats on the council.

Lynn Reynolds received 193, Brenda Deming received 169, Whitney Goebel received 135 and Tiffany Whorton received 123.

Dowd and Deming, had expressed to Linden city officials and the Journal-Sun that they no longer wished to pursue a seat on the council. However, Dowd told the Journal-Sun Thursday that she has decided to assume her seat on the council.

Dowd, who had previously expressed her excitement that younger citizens were running for the seats, received the most votes of all the candidates and plans to focus her efforts on Linden’s parks.

James Johnson, who ranked second to Dowd, was thankful to his supporters.

“I would like to thank everyone for their vote and support on my run for city council, especially God which without him nothing would be possible. And my wife Candy Burkhalter Johnson who is my rock and biggest supporter, my family and friends. I’m very honored to have been elected to this position and I promise you all that I will always have the best interest of our town and our citizens at heart. And I’m looking forward to working diligently with the other council members and city leaders in making our town the best it can be. So, thank you all again for your support”, Johnson wrote in a statement to the Journal-Sun.

Whitney Goebel and Tiffany Whorton, the only two candidates who attended a candidate’s forum in October, addressed their losses on Facebook.

“God has a plan and it’s much greater than I can expect! Trust me when I say, I did not lose for good! I am making change and it’s coming so keep watching”, Goebel wrote.

“I definitely fought in the battle. Not knowing but a handful of people and still getting the votes I did, I’m good with that”, Whorton wrote.