A special election for mayor in Conway ended Tuesday night. The election was held after the unexpected death of longtime Mayor Greg Martin.
Conway Mayor -Elect Alys Lawson
Alys Lawson's win with 947 votes means she avoided a runoff by just 17 votes. She needed 930 votes to secure the win. The turnout Tuesday was pretty low with only 27 percent registered voters turning out.
At City Hall Tuesday night, Lawson was joyous over her win. She is the first woman ever elected as mayor of Conway.
Conway's former Mayor Greg Martin was the first Conway mayor to die in office. He died of natural causes at his mountain home near Clemson in September.
After his death, Lawson became the acting mayor because of her city council position as mayor pro tem.
Lawson said she's relieved that the election is over and looks forward to moving the city along, but will do so with Martin's memory.
"It's been a total emotional roller coaster since September. It's hard to be excited about being the first female mayor of the city of Conway when you come about it in such a horrible fashion. So, I've tried to balance my duties with respect to (Martin's) memory. Now it's time to be mayor and move on," Lawson said shortly after winning.
There are 25 fail-safe votes which are ballots that have been counted and tallied but ones that have to verified because of questions over residency. But none of the fail-safe votes should impact the results.
Lawson's win means her council seat is up for grabs which will require another special election. The special election will be held after the first of the year.
Conway's election commission will certify the results Thursday at 10 a.m.
