Familiar faces will continue to fill the Fulton City Council following Tuesday's election - with a notable exception.
In Ward 4, the only opposed race, Bob Washington unseated 35-year council veteran Steve Moore. Unofficial final results from the Callaway County clerk show with all precincts reporting, Washington received 217 votes (74 percent) to Moore's 76 (25.9 percent). There was a single write-in vote.
"I'm pretty excited. I had great support from my family. I think that's pretty awesome," Washington said. "The community, those in my ward, delivered me a victory, and I'm grateful. I do want to thank the voters for their support and the trust they've put into me to represent the Fourth Ward."
He offered gratitude to Moore for his many years serving the ward.
"Most of my life in Fulton has been in the Fourth Ward, and I've been voting for him basically all those years," Washington said.
Washington said he's been attending City Council meetings to get up to speed on current issues.
"I have some ideas," he added.
Washington is the pastor of Fulton Church Of God In Christ in Fulton. Born and raised in Topeka, Kansas, he graduated from Topeka High School and later received a physical education degree from Ottawa University. Upon moving to Fulton, he was employed to teach at the Missouri School for the Deaf, where he remained for 32 years.
He's received many awards for his efforts in education and community service. He leads by example, encouraging the members of Fulton COGIC and others to grow and develop into disciples for the Lord. Washington is married to Ella (Cole) Washington. After 39 years, they have had two sons, two daughters and eight grandchildren.
He listed housing and retaining the Fulton Medical Center as two of his top concerns.
Moore said he's sure Washington will do an excellent job filling the position.
"You can't win every election," he said Tuesday evening. "It's been a wonderful 35 years. I've learned a lot, worked with some wonderful people."
Moore extended thanks to the constituents who voted for him for so many years.
Candidates for the other three wards ran unopposed. Ward 1's Ballard Simmons was re-elected for his second two-year term in office with 334 votes; eight people cast write-in votes. Ward 2's Mary Rehklau, who's served in the office since 2010, was re-elected with 116 votes; four cast write-in votes. Ward 3's John Braun is also returning for a second term with 271 votes; four write-in votes were cast in that race as well.
Tuesday's election was delayed from April due to COVID-19.
Other elections
All other municipal board and council elections were unopposed.
Three Village of Kingdom City Board of Trustees members ran for re-election and were duly elected: Donald Thompson, Linda VanEngelenhoven and William Shults.
In Holts Summit, Mayor Landon Oxley (207 votes) and Ward 1's Sharon Schlueter (106 votes) were both elected. New candidate Susan Sundermeyer (96 votes) will serve for Ward 2.
In Mokane, Jo Belmont (25 votes) will return as mayor. Chad Booher (23 votes) and Debra Taylor (20 votes) will serve two-year terms on the board of alderpersons, and Shauna Lenhard will serve a one-year term (24 votes). Another one-year seat remains unfilled due to a lack of candidates; no write-in votes were filed in that race.
In Auxvasse, South Ward incumbent Bret Barnes (42 votes) received another two-year term, as did North Ward incumbent Gary Westerman (18 votes).
New Bloomfield did not hold an election. The mayorship and two alderman - occupied by Mayor Terry Shaw, Gary Hoelscher (Ward 1) and Rosemary Augustine (Ward 2) - were up. All three filed for re-election and were unopposed. In 2015, New Bloomfield voters passed a ballot measure that allows the city to forgo municipal elections when the number of candidates who have filed is equal to the number of positions to be filled.