3 Gwinnett cities face runoffs; Suwanee pair out

Three Gwinnett cities are facing runoffs for council seats after Tuesday night’s elections.

In Norcross, Tyler Hannel and Bruce Gaynor are headed for a runoff in at-large City Council District 2. Only two votes separated the candidates: Hannel received 36.65% of the vote, and Gaynor received 36.47%. The seat is currently held by Councilman Dan Watch, who did not seek reelection.

Snellville’s Post 2 is also headed for a runoff. Solange Destang received 47.56% of the vote, and Brittany Marmol received 41.61%. Councilman Roger Marmol, the cur- rent Post 2 representative and Brittany Marmol’s husband, did not seek reelection.

Braselton’s Town Coun- cil District 1 will see a runoff between incumbent Councilwoman Becky Richardson, who received 44.56% of the vote, and challenger Rich- ard Mayberry, who received 30.05%. In District 3, incumbent Councilman Tony Funari lost to challenger Jim Joedecke. Joedecke received 81.82% of the vote, and Funari received 18.18%.

All runoffs will take place Dec. 3 at the same polling places used for Tuesday’s election.

In Suwanee, two incum- bents running for reelection to council seats were defeated. Challenger Heather J. Hall defeated incumbent Post 1 Councilman Doug Ireland, receiving 56.64% of the vote compared to Ireland’s 43.36%. For Post 2, Larry Pettiford defeated incumbent Coun- cilman Dick Goodman with 57.19% of the vote.

Goodman said the city’s continuing development may have been a driver for residents to vote him and Ireland out.

“I believe many citizens were concerned about what they perceive as ‘over development,’ particularly in the form of rental apartments,” Goodman said in an email. “And although this type of development has been incorporated into the city’s mas- ter plans, which were citi- zen driven, for nearly two decades and have been regularly referenced or high- lighted in the city’s various publications, as well as on the city website, most citi- zens remain unaware of it, or just disinterested until they see dirt being moved. And, it appears that there is a fear or innate suspicion or prejudice against rentals and renters.”

Pettiford, who defeated Goodman, campaigned on issues including “resident conscious growth” and preventing further traffic conges- tion, according to his website. Pettiford did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.