NEW ALBANY — The Floyd County Council is guaranteed to have a new look in 2013.

Ted Heavrin, a four-term incumbent and current president of the council, was beaten in Tuesday’s Democratic Party primary. Heavrin finished fourth in a four-person race for the three council At-large seats.

Incumbents finished first and second in the race, with Carol Shope leading the way with 2,227 votes, or 26.7 percent, followed by Brad Striegel with 2,205 votes, or 26.5 percent. Larry Clemons finished third in the race to secure a spot on the November ballot, collecting 1,973 votes, or 23.7 percent, while Heavrin was close behind with 1,917 votes, or 23 percent.

“It happens,” said Heavrin after watching the returns come in at the Knights of Columbus Hall in New Albany. “I had a good run; I think I served the people of the county well. I never did do anything to benefit myself.”

Heavrin said he thinks the low voter turnout hurt his chances. Only 3,881 registered Democrats voted in Tuesday’s primary.

“I was surprised Ted got beat,” Striegel said.

Clemons, who is no newcomer to politics, said the real work begins now to prepare for fall’s general election.

“It’s going to take a lot of work,” Clemons said. “All this does is create more work ... but we will be ready. We have a good bunch of people helping us.”

Shope said she was “thrilled” with being the top vote-getter and for the chance to move on to the fall election.

“I am grateful. All the hard work paid off,” Shope said. “I feel good about it [fall election]. I really care about the people and I think that shows with how I ran tonight. I had a lot of people working for me.”

Striegel is also happy with his strong showing. He will be seeking his second term on the council.

“Primaries are different. You never know what kind of voter turnout you are going to have,” he said. “I will be working to get my message out, going door-to-door and inform the voters of who I am. I am proud of my record ... I think I have improved the quality of life in the county.”



REPUBLICANS

The mood among Floyd County Republicans was upbeat at the River City Winery following Tuesday’s primary, and voter turnout had a lot to do with that. There were 5,724 people who voted in the Republican primary compared to 3,881 who voted in the Democratic Party primary.

The mood also was positive among the three Floyd County Council candidates who advanced to the fall’s general election.

Steve Burks led the way with 3,087 votes, or 30.4 percent, while Jim Wathen was second with 2,887 votes, or 28.5 percent of the vote. Billy Stewart, the former president of the Georgetown Town Council, was third with 2,121 votes, or 20.9 percent of the vote. Cam Wright finished a close fourth with 2,031 votes, or 20.1 percent.

Burks, who lost his bid for the New Albany City Council last fall, said he used the Internet and other social media to help get the word out about his candidacy.

“We have got to unify all of Floyd County; get folks working together,” Burks said. “We want to work to better this area.”

Burks said it is important to get new faces on the council with new ideas.

“We just have to get folks working together, and do what is right for everybody,” he said.

Wathen had every reason to smile with the second-place finish and the opportunity to move on the fall election. This was his fourth election and first victory. He had run unopposed in previous primaries and narrowly lost to Democrat Larry McAllister for a Floyd County Council seat in a recount after being three votes ahead on election night.

He also expects Republicans to fare well in the fall.

“People are hurting right now. So many people have lost their jobs, some are underemployed while others have just given up,” he said. “We are in a bad time right now.”