McNeal, Jett to face off in runoff Dec. 2

Joe McNeal outpolled incumbent Mayor Dave Jett by 51 votes in unofficial returns late Tuesday night, but it wasn't enough to avoid a runoff election, which will be held Tuesday, Dec. 2.

McNeal received 760 votes to Jett's 709.

But Carol Dalton, in her first try for public office, polled a respectably 422 votes, guaranteeing that neither McNeal nor Jett would have the simple majority needed to avoid a runoff election. City ordinances require a runoff of the top two candidates if no candidate receives 50 percent plus one vote.

Returns were not reported until after 11 p.m. following steady and heavy voting during the day. A total of 1,891 votes were cast for mayor, roughly 45 percent of the 4,290 voters registered in Mountain Home as of last Friday. However, a large number of voters registered at the polls during the day.

In the race for city council, incumbents Tom Rist and Mark Russell were unopposed. Rist garnered 1,457 votes, while Russell received 1,376.