Hogansville voters re-elected the city’s mayor Tuesday, three West Point incumbents were returned to office, while a runoff is on tap for a state House of Representatives seat.

— State House of Representatives

Kip Smith of Columbus and Steve Earles of Pine Mountain will be in a runoff Dec. 1 for the District 129 seat in the House of Representatives.

In Tuesday’s special election, Smith got 49.4 percent of the vote, followed by Earles with 22 percent, Jerry Luquire of Columbus with 13.4 percent and Earl T. Davis of Hamilton with 15.1 percent.

The winner will fill the remaining year in the two-year term of Smith’s father, Vance Smith Jr. of Pine Mountain, who resigned to become commissioner of the state Department of Transportation.

The district encompasses southern Troup County, including West Point, most of Harris County and the northwest corner of Muscogee County.

Earles, who has a massage therapy business in LaGrange, carried Troup County with 333 votes, compared to 303 for Smith, 112 for Davis and 89 for Luquire. Smith carried Harris and Muscogee counties by a wide margin.

“I’m excited” about the runoff, Earles said Tuesday night, citing “experience and maturity” as advantages over his opponent.

“I’m looking forward to reaching out to the ones who voted and the ones who didn’t vote.”

Smith did not return a phone call seeking comment.

— Hogansville

Hogansville Mayor Jimmy Jackson was returned to office Tuesday along with City Councilman Bobby Joe Frazier, while Councilman Charlie Frank Martin was defeated by Scott Worthy.

Jackson won his second mayoral term, defeating two challengers with 35 percent of the vote, 197 total votes. Andy Brubaker received 31 percent, or 175 votes, and Jim Karvelas received 32 percent, 179 votes. The city will not have a runoff.

Jackson could not be reached for comment Tuesday night or this morning.

“I want to thank my supporters,” Worthy said after the results came in.

Worthy came in with 306 votes, 56 percent of the vote, Martin, who had served two terms on council, had 234 votes, 43 percent.

Worthy, a real estate agent and political newcomer, said he “couldn’t wait” to start working for all the residents of Hogansville. He will take office in January when the mayor and Frazier are sworn in.

“I want to thank the voters and my supporters,” Worthy said. “We had a good run. Anyone in Hogansville who needs anything is welcome to get in touch with me.”

Martin said he won’t consider another run for office.

“The people have spoken,” Martin said, calling Worthy a “worthy opponent.”

“He got out and worked,” Martin said.

Frazier also thanked his supporters after final election numbers were announced. The two-term councilman won a third term, defeating Derek Hay 58 percent to 33 percent, or 318-183. Dixie Quinn, who had dropped out of the race for the council seat, received 46 votes, or 8 percent.

“I will continue to try and help position the city for future growth,” Frazier said. “I enjoy working for the people of Hogansville.

Turnout in Hogansville was 30.6 percent of registered voters.

— West Point

In West Point, all three incumbent council members were returned to office, and a proposed “tax allocation district” development tool passed overwhelmingly.

Joe Downs, Darren Kelley and Judy Wilkinson received 33 percent, 25 percent and 23 percent of the vote, re-spectively; or 494, 379 and 349 votes. Challenger Gloria Ramsey Marshall received 17 percent, or 261 votes.

The three incumbents thanked their supporters.

“It should be an exciting four years,” Downs said. “We have a lot of important decisions to make.”

Downs and Wilkinson said their experience as incumbents should make for faster work by City Council in making those decisions.

“We have a bright future,” Wilkinson said.

Kelley said he was especially pleased a referendum on a tax allocation district, included on the ballot for city voters, passed by such a large margin. “Yes” votes on the plan totaled 408 and “no votes” totaled 94, or 81 percent to 18 percent of the vote.

The district will allow the city to set aside a specific area in town, allowing bonds to be floated for infrastructure improvements and building projects. Taxes collected on the revitalized property pay off the bonds. Neither the city or residents are on the hook for the tax money. City leaders are looking at an area from Interstate 85 to the Chattahoochee River to be in the redevelopment district.

The district will not raise residents’ taxes and redevelopment projects won’t bother homeowners who wish to be left alone, officials say. The city will collect new taxes from the new development once the bonds are paid off.

Mayor Drew Ferguson IV and Barry Spofford, a local developer who backs the district, called the vote a “mandate” by residents in support of the redevelopment plan.

Development of the district will be a long, but public, process now that the vote is done. Most city leaders see the district as one of just a few ways blighted areas in West Point can improve.

“It shows the people of West Point want to move in the right direction,” Ferguson said. “The citizens want to see positive changes to ensure positive economic activity.”

Spofford said West Point now “has its marching orders” and it’s now up to the mayor and council to get the development moving.

“This will be a turning point for West Point,” Spofford said. “This will be a time people will look back on and say the decline stopped.”

Turnout in West Point for Tuesday’s election was 22 percent of registered voters.