Crowded Brookhaven City Council Races Result In Runoffs

With so many candidates seeking to become the new city of Brookhaven's first elected council, it seemed almost inevitable that most would result in runoffs.

Jim Eyre was the only candidate who won his race outright on Tuesday night, capturing 55 percent of the vote to become Brookhaven's first elected official in history.

Eyre told Patch that what put him over the edge was that he'd always been very involved in the Ashford Park community.

"I've always been straightforward," he said. "I've always been honest. Win or lose, I know they're (voters) were going to understand where I stand. I have been working for them, and I'm going to continue to do that."

The District 2 race became particularly bitter in the final days before the vote, with Eyre and Russell Mitchell, who finished with 32 precent, accusing each other's campaign of falsehoods and inaccuracies.

Mitchell told Patch he received a third of the vote and has only lived in Brookhaven for three years, and was proud of his effort. Larry Hurst finished a distant third.

In District 1, Rebecca Chase Williams will face Kevin Fitzpatrick. Williams finished with a solid 45 percent of the vote, but not enough to avoid a runoff with Fitzpatrick's 19 percent.

District 3 fielded nine candidates, and 10 votes separated the top two finishers. Bates Mattison finished the evening with 875 votes, or 21.22 percent. Kevin Quirk garned 865 votes, or 20.97 percent.

And in a three-candidate District 4 race, Joe Gebbia (40 percent) will square off against Karen Lord (35 percent). Just 113 votes separated the candidates in the final tally.

Related Items:

Replay Patch's Live Coverage Of Brookhaven Elections.