Marshal Greg Countryman wins re-election

Muscogee County Marshal Greg Countryman has won re-election over challenger Bernard Spicer by a wide margin.

With all 28 precincts reporting and all of the in-person early voting counted but not official, Countryman has 61 percent of the vote to 38.5 for Spicer. He has 6,575 to Spicer’s 4,130.

Countryman, 50, said he’s thankful to God for a victory in the race.

“I didn’t rely on the endorsement of man,” the marshal said late Tuesday from his home.

Countryman said he is pleased for another term to lead the office that is responsible for 31 different types of civil processes from levy to garnishments, more than 5,300 evictions and dispossessory warrants.

In the days ahead, Countryman said he hopes the city can move forward.

“I always tried to be a team player,” he said. “I’m a team player now.”

Countryman, one of four officials who filed lawsuits against the city on inadequate budgets, said he knocked on thousands of doors during the campaign and most people didn’t know information about the lawsuit.

“I think there has been a lot of disinformation and misinformation,” he said. “I’m hoping the truth will be told. We are going to have to raise our hand in the courtroom.”

The marshal said the lawsuit that he filed had nothing to do with money but the city not following the budget process outlined in the city charter. He hopes the public will get a chance to ask some hard questions from the city government.

“You only heard one side of it,” he said.

Spicer, 62, said he enjoyed his race against Countryman but realized how difficult it is to unseat an incumbent.

“It was a good race,” he said. “It gave me a lot of experience for the next race.”

The former Columbus police officer said he plans to make another run for the office when the next four-year term ends. He hopes to concentrate on all of Columbus, not just some neighborhoods.

“You have to do Columbus,” he said.

Although he didn’t garner enough votes, Spicer said he couldn’t understand how the marshal could “misspend money” on his city credit card and face the voters.

“This is OK with the public?” he asked.

This story was originally published May 24, 2016 at 9:14 PM with the headline "Marshal Greg Countryman wins re-election."