Menu
Incumbents mix with newcomers in Roachdale
ROACHDALE — A mix of incumbents and new board members will be serving the Town of Roachdale as of Jan. 1.
Council newcomers Mike Mahoy (139 votes) and Katrina Asher (128) were the two leading vote getters in a five-way race for three at-large council seats, with one-term incumbent Holly Cook (75) taking the third.
They will be joined by incumbent Clerk-Treasurer Debbie Sillery, who topped challenger Michael Arnold 122 votes to 64.
The other two current board members, Zach Bowers (54) and Kevin Cook (58), finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
While it’s unclear what message voters were trying to send, with two new council members but the incumbent clerk-treasurer winning overwhelmingly, both Mahoy and Asher say they are looking forward to enacting some changes on the council.
“I’m hoping to get into Roachdale and make a change,” Mahoy said. “That’s been my goal all along.”
“I’m excited to hopefully bring some new excitement to the town,” Asher said. “There’s been a lot of negativity. I’m hoping to change that and make people happy to live in Roachdale again.”
Mahoy is the former Roachdale town marshal, as well as serving part-time as a utility worker.
“I put 11 years into protecting and serving and this is going to be four more years of protecting and serving,” Mahoy said. “That’s my job, to serve the people of Roachdale.”
For her part, Holly Cook is looking forward to four more years of service.
“I look forward to serving the town of Roachdale,” Cook said. “I enjoyed being in a position where I could have some influence over decisions made. It’s a great place to live.”
With another commitment on Tuesday night, Cook was actually notified by text that she had won another four years.
“I was in a Delta Theta Tau meeting,” Cook said with a laugh. “Someone sent me a text and said, ‘Congratulations,’ and I thought, I guess I must have got in.”
Sillery is likewise looking forward to four more years in town hall.
“I’m excited about it,” Sillery said. “I think we’ve done a lot the last four years and certainly we’ll try to do it the next four years.”
A little more than one third of registered Roachdale voters cast ballots in the election, with 186 voting out of 552. Of these, 158 voted on Tuesday, 22 voted early at the Putnam County Courthouse and six voted via paper absentee votes.