Vickey Johnson wins District 2 Council seat in Phenix City runoff

Vickey Carter Johnson was the big winner on Tuesday in the runoff to fill the District 2 City Council seat in Phenix City.

With unofficial totals including absentee votes, Johnson took 458, or 63 percent, of the vote to 267, or 37 percent, for Baxley Oswalt in the special election to fill the seat left vacant by the Aug. 3 death of Councilmember Johnnie Robinson.

Russell County Probate Judge Alford Harden said the election will be certified Dec. 27 but there were only a handful of provisional ballots.

Carter and Oswalt were upbeat during the day while supporters braved a steady drizzle at times to vote at the Central Activity Center. Supporters for Oswalt and Johnson were mostly along racial lines in the district with nearly an even split in eligible black and white voters.

Oswalt said voter turnout was low in the election. He and his wife now plan to take some time off.

“Excuse my French, we are going to get the hell out of dodge,” he said.

Oswalt said he had excellent supporters and advisers and wouldn’t change anything in the race.

“We ran a clean campaign and I’m just sorry the results are not in our favor,” he said.

He noted the allegations over voting in the election may have motivated some people to vote in the runoff.

“I think there are still some issues to get addressed without being unfairly influenced by other councilmembers,” he said.

Early Tuesday afternoon, Minister Alford James Banks felt confident that Johnson would win the election.

“I know she is the lady for this post,” he said after casting his ballot. “She needs my support and if anybody else has any doubt about it, tell them to take it to the Lord cause she is going to win this. I think she is right person for the job and she is overqualified.”

Becky Aldrich, a lifelong resident of Russell County, came out to support Oswalt, who he said lived a few doors from her while growing up.

“He is a working man and has been a good family man,” Aldrich said. “I can’t say anything bad about him.”

When asked what she thought the city needed, Aldrich said she didn’t think things would ever be like it was when she was growing up in the city.

“People make promises they know they can’t fulfill in order to get the vote,” she said. “How many want to face the issues and others do it for show?”

After giving the question more thought, Aldrich said she wasn’t sure that it wasn’t better in the old days.

“At least you know what you were getting,” she said. “Now, you don’t. I think sometime it was better when it was corrupt. It’s still corrupt, it’s just not as open. It is still there.”

This story was originally published December 19, 2017 at 9:24 PM with the headline "Vickey Johnson wins District 2 Council seat in Phenix City runoff."