South Point, Proctorville council races were on ballot

SOUTH POINT — South Point Mayor Jeff Gaskin won a solid victory for a second term in the village of South Point on Tuesday.

With all precincts reported, he led his opponent, former village worker Fred Craft, 76 to 22 percent, with 2 percent in undervotes.

“I am elated,” Gaskin said. “I had so much help from my family and friends. It was overwhelming. I think the vote here really shows what the people of South Point wanted.”

The race had at times been heated. Craft had campaigned primarily on social media, posting a series of videos making claims about village operations, while Gaskin took his message to candidate forums.

“We ran a very positive, forward-thinking race,” Gaskin said. “And this shows that you can’t win an election with negativity, sensationalism, drama and whining.”

In the village council race, incumbents Chuck Austin and Michael Lynd won re-election over challenger Brad Adkins for two seats.

In Proctorville, incumbent Mayor Rick Dunfee won an easy re-election to a third term, winning 70 percent of the vote over opponent Jerry Thompson’s 28 percent, with two percent in undervotes.

“Just a big thank you,” Dunfee said, when asked what he wanted to say to voters. “And we’ll keep the plows a-rolling.”

He said a priority in his next term would be the village’s water lines.

“We’ll continue looking for money on that,” he said.

He said the budget is always a concern.

“We’ll try to find money to do stuff, and when it’s not there, we won’t,” he said. “That’s our main thing.”

In council races, Dale Burcham and Bill Elliott ran unopposed for two seats.

In other mayoral races, Roger Camp won in Athalia, defeating Jason Chapman, 58.5 to 40.4 percent, while in Hanging Rock, Chris Davidson won unopposed.