Re-elected Councilman Bill Smelser goes over the results with Deborah Hall, Place 3 leader Mike Roberson and his wife, Sandra Smelser. | Brent Maze

Don Hall and Johnnie Howell will face off in a runoff election on Oct. 9 to see who will be the next mayor of Hartselle.

Hall received the most votes with 1,177 for 39 percent of the vote while Howell came in second with 1,036 for 34 percent. Former Hartselle School Superintendent Lee Hartsell was third with 818 votes or 27 percent.

Hall said he was pleased with the outcome, but he knows there’s still a lot to be done.

“I’m going to meet with my supporters and come up with a strategy to close out the election,” Hall said. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

Howell said he wasn’t disappointed because he came in second.

“I really appreciate all of the support and I’m asking them to go back to the polls and support me again in October,” Howell said. “We’re going to go back to work, knocking on door and trying to get our support.”

In Place 1, Kenny Thompson was elected for his sixth term on the council, his third consecutive term, over Bill Drake.

“It was a great race against a quality candidate,” Thompson said. “He’s a great guy and I just wish he would have had a better showing in the race.”

Bill Smelser will also return for his third term after defeating A.D. Hargrove for Place 2 while Tom Chappell defeated Dick Carter for Place 4.

“I think it shows that the people of Hartselle are happy with the way things are right now,” Chappell said. “I’m excited to win another term on the council.”

The closest race was in Place 3 Glenn McGann edging Karen Owens and George Hearring for a spot in the runoff with frontrunner Mike Roberson. Owens originally was ahead 644-640, but a reprint of the ballot box tickets showed McGann ahead 646-644.

Ken Doss nearly missed winning election to Place 5 without a runoff. He collected 47 percent of the vote and will face Franklin D. Turney, who was in second place over Jason Armstrong.

For the school board race, Venita Jones won election without a runoff, defeating incumbent Byrune Rollins and Frank Jones.