The town of Smyrna elects Alvin Pope and Justin Capps to town council, voting out two incumbents.
Unofficial results show Pope overwhelmingly won the third district seat, taking 259 votes to 54 for incumbent Valerie Forbes.
Pope served on council in 2016, filling the final year of District 2 Councilman Anthony DeFeo’s term. He did not run for a second term but returned this year to get the town “back on track”. He says he is focused on finances and looks forward to continuing a dialogue with residents.
“Making sure that we have a budget that is put together in a timely fashion and that is actually fiscally responsible and then assessing the needs of the town to see how we move forward with regard to any capital projects," Pope says.
Capps won 218 votes, beating Dean Johnson by just 10 votes for the at-large seat. Incumbent Gerald Brown received 172 votes.
Capps says he already voiced his intention to stand on the town’s finance and economics board, noting a recent controversial decision by town council to double property taxes was one of his main reasons for running.
“I saw something I didn’t like and I stepped out to make a change," Capps says. "And they put me there.”
Pope and Capps also note that voter turnout was larger than usual, but expected after the tax increase.
"I’m really thankful that the citizens of Smyrna put their faith in me and gave me the position," Capps says. "Now I’m going to do my best to be diligent and keep my word to them like I said I would. No more tax increases, no more utility increases, no more votes for those things on my part at least.”
