Christie claims Nevada City Council seat

By James R. Campbell

Nevada Daily Mail

In a competitive race that drew a paltry 5.9 percent turnout, 3M Corp. General Supervisor Lance Christie out-polled substance abuse counselor Mike Smith to win the unexpired Nevada City Council term of Sherry Steward, who had resigned at the end of July because she moved out of town.

Christie prevailed by 135 votes to 117, or 54 to 46 percent, Vernon County Clerk Tammi Beach reported at 7:30 p.m. Of the city's 4,275 registered voters, only 252 cast ballots on Tuesday, Beach said.

With the results broken down by voting precinct, Smith did well at the First Baptist Church, tallying 40 votes to Christie's 25, and he ran close at the home economics building in the Vernon County fairgrounds at Centennial Park, trailing Christie by 10 to 12.

But Christie won the seat with strong support at the other three polling places, garnering 39 votes to Smith's 17 at the United Methodist Church and leading by 23 to 11 at the National Guard Armory and 7 to 4 at the Osage Prairie YMCA, Beach reported.

Christie is scheduled to be sworn in at a special council meeting, at 7 a.m., Friday.