
Beard reelected to Ward 3, Nolan secures first term in Ward 5
TUPELO — Voters returned Ward 3 Councilman Travis Beard to office in a low-turnout general election Tuesday night, along with electing freshman Republican Bentley Nolan to replace Ward 5 Councilman Buddy Palmer, to bring Tupelo's municipal election cycle to an end.
The final tallies for the All-American City's municipal elections resolved quickly with two decisive victories, closing an election cycle that began in January and ended with a single new face on the council.
Beard, a Republican who just secured his third full-term in office, defeated his Democrat opponent Shirley Hendrix, owner of R&B Specialty Printing, by garnering 192 votes (68%) to Hendrix's 139 votes (32%).
Nolan, who manages Nolan Brothers Motor Sales, defeated Democrat Candria Lewis. Nolan received 292 votes (88%) to Lewis' 39 votes (10%). He will replace Palmer, who is retiring, on July 1 when all candidates will be sworn in. There were four write-in votes.
Nolan previously defeated two candidates in the April 1 primary and April 23 runoff election to secure his seat as the Republican nominee.
Beard and Nolan join the other candidates who either won in the primary election or ran unopposed. They include Republican Ward 1 Councilman Chad Mims, Republican Ward 2 Councilman Lynn Bryan, Democrat Ward 4 Councilwoman Nettie Davis, Republican Ward 6 Councilwoman Janet Gaston, Democrat Ward 7 Councilwoman Rosie Jones and Republican Mayor Todd Jordan.
Mims and Gaston ran unopposed, while Bryan, Davis, Jones and Jordan had no opponents from opposing parties, leading to victories during the April 1 primary election.
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