August 5, 2022
By: Dwayne Page
New mayors were elected in Liberty and Alexandria Thursday.
Audrey M. Martin unseated Incumbent Liberty Mayor Jason Hayes Ray 73 to 58 while in Alexandria Alderman Lloyd Dyer was elected Mayor. He defeated Alderman Jana Beth Tripp in the mayoral race 101 to 47. Dyer will succeed Mayor Bennett Armstrong who chose not to seek re-election but opted for an unsuccessful run for a seat on the county commission in the 1st district.
Meanwhile Curtis J. Rutter received 86 votes to fill an unexpired Alexandria Alderman Term.
Five were elected Alderman in Liberty Thursday including Kevin R. Mullinax with 98 votes, Joe D. Bratten 91, Ryan Dodd 88, Kendra Stanford 86, and William H. Reynolds, Jr. 80. Derek Johnson lost with 74 votes.
In Smithville, Mayor Josh Miller was re-elected unopposed with 805 votes while Alderman Beth Chandler won her first full term with 670 votes. She had been filling an unexpired term. Don Crook was also elected Alderman. He received 508 votes. Rhonda Tiefenauer garnered 337 votes in an unsuccessful bid for Alderman.
Alderman Greg Fish ran unopposed and received 51 votes in the Dowelltown municipal election.