Ten Sleep elects new mayor and council members

TEN SLEEP - Ninety-nine Ten Sleep voters came to the polls or sent in absentee ballots to elect a new mayor and council members Tuesday.

In announcing the unofficial election results, Town Clerk Lori Hughes said Ernie Beckley received 79 votes while David Lyman recorded 15 votes.

The canvassing board was slated to meet Wednesday morning to certify the results. With no changes, Beckley will be sworn in as mayor at the June 2 meeting.

Beckley has served on the council for more than six years.

He said, "I'm grateful for the support I received from the town with the votes I received today. I hope that I can follow in Jack's [Haggerty, current mayor] footsteps in keeping the town financially secure. I have big shoes to fill."

Beckley said his seat on the council will officially become vacant once he is sworn into office. At that time the vacancy will be declared and the town will begin advertising. Then any eligible Ten Sleep electorate can apply. After the application period, there will be an interview process before the council and then the council will vote to fill the vacancy.

COUNCIL RACE

The race for the two four-year council seats was tight between three of the four candidates. Unofficially, Bart DeWitt received the most votes with 55, followed by Sylvia Nichole Norman with 49, current council member Amy Truman with 44 and Steve Criner with 28.

DeWitt said, "I would like to thank everyone for voting and thanks for your support."

Norman said, "I am so thankful for everyone who came out and voted. It was a great turnout for the town. I'm very thankful to those who voted for me. It was a close vote which shows that any of us would have done a great job. I'm looking forward to being a new member with Bart, he is a fantastic guy, and I can't wait to serve Ten Sleep."

Hughes said there was a good turnout for the election with 28 voters choosing to cast their votes via absentee ballots. There were several new registered voters including one resident who lived in the county their entire life and recently moved to town to vote in the municipal election for the first time, Hughes said.