Opelika City Hall
The Opelika Observer will provide live election coverage of the city elections beginning at 6 p.m. We will be live tweeting with the hashtag #voteopelika on twitter @OpelikaObserver and providing updates on our Facebook page as well as providing live updates, interviews with candidates and city officials as soon as the polls close.
Join us here for up to the minute coverage and results August 23rd beginning at 6 p.m.
Two city council seats, Ward 1 with incumbent Patsy Jones and challenger Larry Gray’s Ward 2, are being contested. Greg Jones is opposing Patsy Jones for the third time, and Larry Gray will face a trio of contenders: Nelson Marsh, Oscar Penn and Tiffany Gibson-Pitts.
Also on the ballot is the mayoral position, as incumbent Mayor Gary Fuller is being challenged by Lee County Commissioner John Andrew Harris.
7 p.m. – Polls are now closed in Opelika. We are waiting on the first numbers to come into city hall. There are two contested city council seats, which may influence voter turnout in those wards.
7:08 – We are going live on Facebook with Dozier Smith T (Ward 3) and David Canon (Ward 5) about voter turnouts in their respective wards.
7:20 – Ward 5 is having issues with one of its polling boxes.
7:24 – Patsy Jones of Ward 1 has just arrived to city hall. Still awaiting results.
7:26 – Absentee ballots are in and have been announced. In the mayoral race, Gary Fuller received 51 absentee votes and John Andrew Harris received 71. Greg Jones in Ward 1 received six, and incumbent Patsy Jones received 41. In Ward 2, Tiffany Gibson-Pitts received 29, Larry Gray received three, Nelson Marsh received three and Oscar Penn received two.
7:39 – Larry Gray just arrived to city hall. Still awaiting results.
7:44- Gary Fuller has just arrived at city hall. Still no official results at this time.
7:57- Gary Fuller has been re-elected to a fourth term as mayor of Opelika.
8:00- City Clerk Robert Shuman announcing official Ward 1 results. Patsy Jones was the winner with 378 votes, and Greg Jones had 308.
8:16 – The results have come in for Ward 2 without the provisional ballots. There will be a runoff between Oscar Penn and Tiffany Gibson-Pitts.
Previous Observer Coverage:
Eight candidates running in Aug. 23 municipal election
City elections to be held Aug. 23
League of Women Voters hold city council forum