Union County voters on Tuesday turned down the county's request to borrow up to $200 million for a new jail. The county had estimated that repaying the debt would raise property taxes by $31.10 a year for every $100,000 of property value.
The bond failed 58,968 to 33,521, or 64 percent to 36, according to the State Board of Elections' unofficial count. Marvin's precinct 28B, where Firethorne votes, said no by a wider margin: 1,633 to 837.
The counts are unofficial until the Union County Board of Elections canvasses the vote, its formal check that ballots were counted and tabulated correctly, on Friday, Nov. 13, the 10th day after the election as state law requires. The State Board of Elections is to canvass Senate District 35, which crosses into Cabarrus County, on Tuesday, Nov. 24.
County commission
Republicans won all four county commission seats on the ballot. For the three full terms, Melissa Merrell, a current commissioner, finished first, followed by board chair Brian Helms and Sam Harris, who took the third seat with 50,969 votes. Democrat Christina Dupont was fourth with 46,865.
Commissioner Errol Wedra of Waxhaw won the unexpired seat over Democrat Madeleine Byl, 53,758 to 45,389. In precinct 28B, Dupont drew more votes than any commission candidate, and Byl outpolled Wedra.
School board
In school board District 6, Firethorne's district, Republican Brandi Smith beat Democrat Evan Metaxatos, 9,796 to 9,036, for the open seat. Republican Linda O. Robinson won the at-large seat over Democrat Alexis Stadler, 54,446 to 45,036. Metaxatos and Stadler each outpolled the winners in precinct 28B.
Legislature
Sen. Todd Johnson, a Republican, kept his District 35 seat, beating Democrat Christine E. Winward 52,066 to 44,329 across Union and Cabarrus counties. Winward outpolled him in precinct 28B.
Democrat Derek Warriner also carried precinct 28B, but Rep. David Willis, a Republican, beat him 21,658 to 19,017 to keep House District 68, which takes in all of Marvin.