Election results: Roanoke City Council | Buchanan Town Council | Radford School Board |
Radford City Council | Salem City Council | Vinton Town Council | Rocky Mount Town Council |
Boones Mill Town Council | Christiansburg Town Council

An asterisk (*) denotes an incumbent.

UPDATED: 10:25 p.m. | POSTED: 3:54 p.m.

Roanoke City Council race

Democrats David Trinkle, Ray Ferris and Bill Bestpitch swept the Roanoke City Council election tonight, shutting out the first full ticket of Republicans since 2002 and ensuring the continuance of a Democratic monopoly on the council.

Trinkle got the most votes, followed by Ferris. Bestpitch finished third -- besting Republicans Bob Craig, Mike Powell and Tony Walker, along with independent Carl Cooper -- to win his second stint on council. Bestpitch served one term on council, then lost a re-election bid in an intraparty Democratic primary in 2004.

Trinkle and Ferris cruised to easy wins, racking up margins in the Lee-Hi and two South Roanoke precincts, where turnout was much heavier than the city average.

Trinkle, by leading all voter getters tonight, would be the city's vice mayor when the new council terms start on July 1 - if today's unofficial vote tally is approved. Trinkle joins Councilman Sherman Lea as the only sitting council members to win concurrent terms.

Ferris ran closely with Trinkle and won a large margin in his home precinct of Lee-Hi.

Trinkle, the only incumbent in the race, and the two new council members will take office during a financially stressful time for Roanoke. The council is set to pass a budget next week that includes a variety of program and service cuts, as well as a 2-cent increase in the meals tax, with the proceeds dedicated to public school funding.

The new council may be called to make further cuts, however, if the economy continues to run below projections. The council was told earlier this week that Roanoke’s sales tax collection is down 15 percent from last year.

Budget and school funding issues largely dominated the campaign, with candidates devoting significant time to debate tax rates and the appropriate size of government.

-- By Mason Adams | The Roanoke Times

Christiansburg Town Council | POSTED: 9:28 p.m.

Richard Ballengee will continue to serve Christiansburg's mayor.

The incumbent defeated challenger Meghan Dorsett in Tuesday's election. Ballengee has served on the town council since 1996 and was elected mayor in 2006.

He’ll be joined on the council by incumbent Brad Stipes; Steve Huppert, who served on the council from 2004-08; and political newcomer Cord Hall.

Stipes said he was humbled by the continued endorsement from voters and said, "I accept the results with a grateful heart."

Huppert thanked voters and said, “I really appreciate their confidence to move forward."

Hall said he is excited about the results and also said he knows that means "a lot of responsibility." He said he is ready to work for residents and is eager to work with the other council members.

"I can't wait to do it. "

-- Sharla Bardin | The Roanoke Times

Rocky Mount Town Council | POSTED: 8:58 p.m.

Trailing the third place candidate by more than 100 votes, longtime Councilman John Lester will not return to town council in July.

Instead, voters chose incumbent Jerry Greer Jr., former Councilman Bobby Cundiff and resident Robert Moyer to fill the three seats open on council this election.

Moyer garnered the most votes with 429 votes, followed by Cundiff with 405 votes and Greer with 354 votes.

In Boones Mill, resident Robert Owen and incumbents Doug Parsons and Peggy Brown Steele won seats on town council.

-- Janelle Rucker | The Roanoke Times

Vinton Town Council | POSTED: 8:22 p.m.

Aaron Lyles may not have won a seat on Vinton Town Council in Tuesday's election, but an observer would hardly have known it to talk to the 18-year-old William Byrd High School senior.

"We're as pleased as we can be," Lyles said, even though he came in third in the race for two seats.

"This was my first political run and I came within 13 votes from taking out a 32-year incumbent."

That would be Robert "Bobby" Altice, 74, who got 247 votes to Lyles' 234.

The highest vote total -- 312 -- went to Matthew Hare, a 32-year-old who was appointed in January to fill the unexpired term of the late Billy Obenchain.

"We feel good." Lyles said. "We'll be back."

-- Cody Lowe | The Roanoke Times

Salem City Council | POSTED: 8:23 p.m.

Salem voters returned two incumbents to city council Tuesday.

Mayor Randy Foley and Councilman John Givens won the two seats on the ballot. Salem School Board member Wayne Adkins finished third -- 280 votes behind Givens, who finished less than 200 votes behind Foley.

The council will reorganize, which includes the selection of a mayor, in July when the new council terms begin.

Buchanan Town Council race

POSTED: 8:16 p.m.

Radford School Board

POSTED: 8:20 p.m.

Radford City Council

POSTED: 8:44 p.m.

Voter turnout at 7 percent in Roanoke | POSTED: 3:54 p.m.

Voter turnout continues to be low today in the race for three Roanoke City Council seats.

As of 3 p.m., turnout was at 7 percent city-wide.

Seven precincts out of 32 have greater than 10 percent voter turnout, with all but one of those in the city’s south and southwestern precincts. The highest turnout is in South Roanoke #1 (21.10 percent), followed by Lee-Hi, South Roanoke #2, Fishburn, Raleigh Court #5, Raleigh Court #4 and Williamson Road #2.

Full slates of Democrats -- former Councilman Bill Bestpitch, lawyer Ray Ferris and incumbent Councilman David Trinkle -- and Republicans -- retired Marine Col. Bob Craig, businessman Mike Powell and Roanoke County schools official Tony Walker -- and independent community activist Carl Cooper are all running for a seat on the council.

The turnout at 10 a.m. was 2.78 percent.

Polls will be open until 7 p.m.

-- By Mason Adams | The Roanoke Times