Interims keep council seats

It looks like the Century Town Council members will not change following Tuesday night's special election, as seat 3 interim Shelisa McCall and seat 4 interim Alicia Johnson each won 89 votes out of a total of 136 votes. Escambia County (Fla.) Supervisor of Elections David Stafford announced the unofficial results shortly after 7 p.m.

Seat 3 candidate Evelyn Webber got 44 votes, which is 33.08 percent of 136 total votes. McCall received 89 votes, which is 66.93 percent.

Seat 4 candidate Eddie Hammond got 43 votes, which 32.58 percent, where Johnson received 89, or 67.42 percent of the total votes.

According to Escambiavotes.gov, 136 voters out of 967 total registered voters turned out to vote, which is 14.06 percent.

Both interim candidates were appointed by the council last year when Leonard White resigned from the council and James Smith's term expired with no qualifying candidates.

"I feel very honored that the town of Century trusts me to do this very important job," said Councilwoman Johnson.

Johnson said her plan is 'to jump in with both feet' to build the town's infrastructure to get it repaired and bring jobs to the area.

Candidate Hammond was hesitant to congratulate Johnson and voiced his displeasure with the results.

"The people in Century need to blow this town up," said Hammond. "The people in this town have give up. They've give up because there is no leadership up here."

When reminded he could always run for council in the future, Hammond replied that he was done.

Councilwoman McCall was not at town hall Tuesday night but issued a statement regarding her win:

"It is an honor to have been chosen by the voters and a privilege to serve on the council. I am confident that my time spent with the Century Area Chamber of Commerce along with the 35 years of financial services, accounting and public service have prepared me to be an effective councilperson. I love my Century community and I am looking forward to seeing us thrive and grow."

Candidate and new resident Webber maintained that she will be a fixture in Century, with plans to run again, and is happy that she got the votes she did her first time running.

"I did it to make a point," said Webber. "That's 30 votes I got and I plan to run again in the future. I am here in Century and plan to be for a long time. I'm really excited to be here."

Webber added that she saw the results that out of almost 900 voters, only 150 or less participated, and she plans to work the next four years to change the mindset in Century and help restore more hope for the town.

Council members Johnson and McCall will be sworn into office at 6 p.m., Friday, April 7, at Century Town Hall, which will be closed until 6 p.m. in observance of Good Friday.