Patrick Ervin
patrickervin@ddtonline.com
In the early hours following the 2023 Washington County primary elections, the Delta Democrat Times concluded that the races of coroner and District 3 Constable would come down to a runoff. The latter assumption was corrected when Washington County Circuit Clerk Barbara Esters Parker’s office dissemination certified results from the Secretary of State’s office showing that incumbent Lester “Bo” Walker narrowly escaped a runoff by taking a little more than 50 percent of the votes cast. Walker took 927 votes while his challengers Jatonius Pratt and Roy W. Hallums Jr, garnered 561 votes and 335 votes respectively. Parker said that the runner ups in the District 2 Supervisors race (Barbara Williams) and the District 3 Constable primary (Pratt) are scheduled to examine ballot boxes on today and Thursday respectively.
The only race headed for a runoff will be for coroner between incumbent Methel Johnson with 2,448 votes and Trexlor Leon Redmon with 815. Johnson's vote total was almost as much as her four opponents, Charles West Bell Jr., Bernard Harris, Jerry Shelton and Redmon combined at 2,499. Johnson’s widespread support translated into a 49 percent tally of the total vote which invoked a runoff between the top two vote getters.
Poking fun at the runoff and the nature of the office, Redmon said, “It must be a slow news day with you trying to bring life to a runoff for the coroner’s race!” The runoff scheduled for August 29, drew a different response from Johnson. “I’m used to having runoff races, but I don’t think the state statute is fair to the voters,” Johnson opined. “In my eyesight, this was as close to 50 percent of the vote as a candidate could get in such a crowded race. The thing about runoffs is that you generally don’t have the turnout that you would have during the primary.”
Redmon agreed, “With it being a coroner’s runoff, turnout will probably be light. Therefore I’m contacting as many supporters as possible to remind them of the upcoming runoff.When you have numerous candidates running for the same office, the votes are divided in such a way that any one of us could’ve won. Now that the two top candidates are the only choices, the one with the most votes wins.”
Both Redmon and Johnson are no stranger to any form of election. Johnson has served as coroner for 16 years and worked under her predecessor for eight years prior to that. This is Redmon’s fifth time attempting to attain the office. Both candidates plan to continue their efforts to get voters to give them the next four years to serve in the office. Johnson has an extensive record of service that voters can easily access through county records. On the other hand, the challenger, Redmon hopes his approach will sway votes. “The first change would be the response time. No one can do or move anything or anyone until the Coroner arrives and completes his/her investigation. So it’s imperative that the Coroner arrives in a timely manner. Secondly, I would speed up the issuing of death certificates so families can process their insurance claims sooner and other personal business faster. Most official business concerning death requires a death certificate so getting them out to families as soon as possible will be a priority. And lastly, I would check to see if it’s possible for the Coroner’s office to work in conjunction with local officials to address crime and call on pastors (at the family’s request) to come meet with us on-site for spiritual guidance and support.”
