The parish will see a new sheriff take office next July after half of Winn’s registered voters went to the polls and approved the challenge by Josh McAllister over three-term incumbent Cranford Jordan to be its top law enforcement officer by a margin of 16 votes. Maybe.
Jordan has filed a request in the Winn Parish Clerk of Court’s Office for a recount of those returns by the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office. That action is set for Monday, Nov. 27, confirmed Clerk of Court Chesney Chandler. “I’d call it a ‘friendly recount’,” said Jordan who by law will pay for this second opinion. “When your election is that close, it’s something you ought to do.”
The Winn Board of Election Supervisors, in line with normal election procedure, broke the seals of the voting machines Tuesday morning to verify the numbers of Saturday’s election. That post-election audit was still underway. Final election results will be certified following Monday’s recount by the state.
On election night, once absentee and early voting numbers were tallied and all 26 precincts were reported, the final count was 2,140 for Jordan and 2,156 for McAllister, so close that both were shown as 50% of the 4,296 total which the Secretary of State’s Office registered unofficially as a 50.7% turnout. Of that total, Jordan outpolled McAllister by 67 in the absentee (mail-in) tally while McAllister bettered Jordan by 141 in the Early Voting (in-person) tally.
In the other local race, Darrell Franks clinched the District 3 Police Jury seat with a 353 to 338 win over Kevin Pharr. That 15-vote margin came in from the five precincts comprising the district.
On state races, Winn’s vote tracked the same pattern as the statewide outcome with an all-Republican slate: Nancy Landry for Secretary of State; Liz Murrill for Attorney General; John Fleming for Treasurer; and Stacey Melerine for BESE Board District 4. Winn also followed the state trend by supporting the first three Amendment proposals while rejecting the fourth (Revenue Stabilization Trust Fund).
When the final precincts came in and the votes announced around 10 p.m. Saturday, McAllister told the gathering at his Main Street headquarters “It’s official” and invited the group to step outside for comments. “The Sheriff’s Office is our office, not my office,” he said. “As we move forward, let’s all work to heal Winn Parish. The sheriff’s No. 1 job is to work for all people, regardless how you voted. Let’s win gracefully.”
The crowd gathered in the dim light beside the building was one of assorted races, ages and economic standing. “This,” McAllister said, indicating that gathering, “is what Winn Parish should look like. I believe in our future. I don’t want to allow Winn to die.” The candidate reminded that he filed his position papers with the Clerk of Court during the early stages of his campaign. “Position papers” are a written report outlining intentions regarding a particular matter.
Jordan also expressed his appreciation to his supporters. “It was a good, clean campaign. I owe a lot to my deputies. It was due to the performance of their duties through the years that the results were so close. Whatever happens, this office will be financially sound on July 1. I anticipate a smooth transition.”
For readers who may wonder, there have been other close races for sheriff. The most recent case was in 2007 when challenger Bodie Little edged out incumbent Buddy Jordan by just 10 votes. Jordan did not contest the results, perhaps due to health reasons.
