McKenzie will be the next New Carlisle city council member

Becky McKenzie

Becky McKenzie

Becky McKenzie will be the next council member in New Carlisle.

McKenzie was declared the winner of the special election on Monday, May 20, after all the votes were counted. The Clark County Board of Elections count says she won by seven votes, 158 to 165.

McKenzie’s opponent, Amy Hopkins, had five days to decide whether she was going to ask for a recount. She told this news organization that wasn’t going to happen.

“I’m not going to ask for a recount,” she said. “I could pay $180 and the results might stay the same.”

Hopkins thanked her supporters again and said she is contemplating running for office in the future. Multiple New Carlisle council seats are up for reelection in November and Mayor Ethan Reynolds is set to resign on Thursday.

McKenzie said she will work as hard as she can to be the best councilmember she can be.

“I’m excited and I hope I do a good job,” she said.

New Carlisle voters took to the polls on May 7 to decide between Hopkins and McKenzie. Just 10% of the registered voters participated in the election. The seat had been open since July when former councilmember Aaron Leighty moved out of the city.

The city council first attempted to fill Leighty’s position themselves by taking applications and conducting interviews. However, that attempt quickly became contentious. Council nor the mayor was able to appoint a new person and a special election had to be called

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