news-record.com

REIDSVILLE — Fifty votes mean different things to different people.

For James Festerman, the number of votes by which he held on to his mayor’s seat signified a pat on the back for a job well done over the past four years.

But for his opponent, Mayor Pro Tem Donald Gorham, those numbers carried a different meaning. “I think it’s evident that people wanted some change in city government,” he said Wednesday.

The close race didn’t unnerve Festerman, who was too busy Wednesday receiving congratulatory calls to talk about why he didn’t get more votes.

“I’m not overly concerned about that,” Festerman said, when asked about the narrow margin, adding that he would continue working for all of Reidsville’s residents.

Festerman got 48 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s mayoral race, while Gorham received 46 percent, according to complete but unofficial results.

Real estate agent Chuck Faint received 6 percent of the vote.

The race came down to two men with deep roots in Reidsville.

Festerman, a native, is the city’s former police chief who served two terms on the Reidsville City Council before his election as mayor. Gorham, also a native of the city, is a retired principal at Lawsonville Avenue Elementary School.

Some in the community, such as newly elected Councilman Tom Balsley, said they expected a tight race. Balsley, a lifelong friend of Festerman, supported the mayor in the election.

“I do think that James has a genuine love for Reidsville,” he said. “I know this, and I know that he is very enthusiastic. He’s probably one of Reidsville’s biggest cheerleaders.”

Balsley said Festerman and Gorham are both fine men who have Reidsville’s best interests at heart. “I credit all the council members, including Donald, in what has been achieved over the last four years,” he said.

Gorham said he gave up his council seat because he thought it was time for change. He said he’s heard good things about Balsley and the other newly elected at-large council member, Richard Johnson, whom he called energetic.

Gorham said he will continue to be active and a watchdog for the city, adding that he may consider running for Councilman John Henderson’s district seat in 2011. “I don’t plan to sit in a rocking chair and just let life pass me by,” he said.

Since Festerman received more than 40 percent of the vote and only 32 provisional ballots were cast Tuesday, there likely will be no runoff, said Tina Cardwell, deputy director of the Rockingham County Board of Elections.

However, she said, if there is a less than 1 percent difference between the number of votes Festerman and Gorham received after the Oct. 13 canvass, Gorham is entitled to request a recount.

Only 2,165, or about 25 percent, of the city’s 8,717 registered voters, turned out for the election. While low, the turnout was better than it was in some prior elections.

During the 2007 district council race, 991 people voted, according to the Rockingham County Board of Elections. During the 2005 mayor and council at-large race, 1,600 people voted. Gorham said he was disappointed in the turnout. He estimates he and his supporters made more than 3,000 visits to homes.

“It just didn’t work out this time,” he said.

Contact Jonnelle Davis at 627-4881, Ext. 126, or jonnelle.davis@news-record.com