Results official: Hardy, Walton elected

Dr. Joe Hardy and Steve Walton expressed their gratitude and thanked the community for their support after primary election results were canvassed Friday and they were officially declared elected as mayor and councilman, respectively.

Both spoke during the special City Council meeting and said they were looking forward to taking office in November.

Walton said he was thankful for the community’s trust in him and for residents’ participation in the election process.

“We are a unique and wonderful city full of people who care,” Hardy said.

After all the votes were tallied, Hardy received 3,272 votes and Walton received 2,874 votes.

City Clerk Tami McKay said there were 5,159 votes cast and both received more than the 2,580 needed to be considered elected, as per the city’s charter.

With two seats open for City Council and one being filled during the primary, the candidates with the next two highest number of votes will advance to the November general election. They are Cokie Booth and Councilman James Howard Adams, who received 2,293 and 1,526 votes, respectively.

Hardy and Walton will be sworn into office Nov. 22, along with the other newly elected council member.

Mayor Kiernan McManus, who lost his bid for a second term, said there was only one discrepancy in all of the ballots from the city’s six precincts. He also mentioned there were 19 provisional ballots, 17 of which were verified. The other two came from people who were not registered voters.

Overall, the city saw 45.78 percent of its registered voters participate in the election.

There were 1,221 ballots cast during early voting, 1,536 cast on Election Day and 2,402 absentee/mail-in ballots.

After reviewing and approving the results of the primary election, council voted 3-0 to direct McKay to send them to the secretary of state.

Council members Matt Fox and James Howard Adams were absent.

In the Republican primary for the State Assembly District 23 seat, Boulder City resident Denise Ashurst, a retired Air Force veteran and founder of Pride in Purity International Ministries, fell short in her race against Danielle Gallant of Las Vegas. Ashurst received 3,771 votes, or 36.2 percent, and Gallant received 4,517 votes, or 43.3 percent. Dan Lier received 2,128 votes, or 20.4 percent.

Hali Bernstein Saylor is editor of the Boulder City Review. She can be reached at hsaylor@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9523. Follow @HalisComment on Twitter.