Strong campaigns pay dividends for candidates who won outright

In all-time high victories for their political careers, longtime DeKalb School Board incumbents Elizabeth Andrews and Frances Edwards beat back challengers and secured four more years on the board.

Andrews, whose 24 years on the school board makes her DeKalb's longest-serving politician, won with 73 percent of the votes over challenger Hayward Lamar.

Edwards, who is completing 12 years on the board, won with 67 percent of the votes over lawyer and political newcomer Nora Polk.

For both incumbents, their Aug. 20 results were their largest winning margin ever.

Edwards said she is proud of the people who worked with her on her campaign and thankful to the community for its support.

"We appreciate that the community recognizes our desire to serve the children of DeKalb," she said. "Working together we can do great things."

Now that the campaign is over, Edwards said she is working to put together a healing unity luncheon for mid-September to bring together all the candidates who competed in the 2002 election.

"During the election, every candidate said education was a priority," she said. "Now that the campaigning is over, we must heal and pull together all that energy for our children."

In January, the DeKalb delegation to the state Capitol will include a teacher, lawyer and community activist.

In House District 61 Post 2, Earnest "Coach" Williams beat back better-funded candidates for the right to take on black Republican W. Scott Davis in the Nov. 5 general election. In his second run for public office, Williams, who has been a physical education teacher for 28 years, won with 52 percent of the vote.

In the House District 60 races, political newcomer and lawyer Pam Stephenson won the Post 1 seat with 53 percent of the votes over Linda Cotten-Taylor. In the Post 3 race, Teresa Greene-Johnson triumphed over Deborah Jackson with 65 percent of the votes.