By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Staff Writer

CHELSEA – Chelsea residents showed up to vote for City Council and mayoral seats on Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2300 of them showed up to be exact.

Although the mayoral seat has yet to be filled, with Tony Picklesimer and Dale Neuendorf in a runoff, most City Council seats have been determined.

In Place 1 Cody Sumners received 1,462 votes to Robert Barnes 759 votes.

“I’m looking forward to taking Chelsea into the next era,” Sumners said. “Now that we are going to have a new mayor and council, I look forward to being a part of bringing them together and supporting Chelsea’s future.”

Place 2 saw Scott Weygand grab 1,684 votes, while Chris Thomas came away with 527 votes.

“I’m excited and ready to get to work and do all I can for Chelsea,” Weygand said. “I’m just very thankful for all of the people of Chelsea to consider me with their vote.”

David Ingram, Incumbent for Place 3, was the only candidate up for re-election and will be the only candidate returning to City Council after receiving 1,719 votes to Gary Isbell’s 464.

Place 4 is where the uncertainty comes into play. Right now Tiffany Bittner currently has the majority of votes with 1,128, but the lead over David Calhoun is very narrow as he received 1,117 votes.

Bittner said she was confused right now and not really sure how to feel until things were more certain, but was extremely pleased with the turnout. She also found some time to laugh while telling stories about her kids, who were very excited for their mom’s opportunity.

“The kids asked me if I was going to cry if I lost,” she said. “I told them no I won’t cry, but I’ll be disappointed, which lead to the question “Kinda like us after we lose a baseball game?’ Exactly like that,” Bittner said with a laugh.

Place 5 was the most contested of all the seats, with three candidates running. Casey Morris ran away with it receiving 1,503 votes to Elizabeth Cooley’s 385 and Tom Holcombe’s 334.

“I can’t even tell you the expression I had on my face and the feeling that came across me when I got the call that I had won,” Morris said. “I was just so shocked and humbled that I was chosen. I though there was no way I would win it outright with three candidates running for the same seat and was prepared for a runoff.”

Morris also said that he is looking forward to continuing making Chelsea “the best place to live, work and play.”

The new council members will now wait for a mayoral runoff between Neuendorf and Picklesimer that will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 4 before taking office later this year.