City voters decided not to change horses mid-stream on Tuesday night as incumbents were roundly voted back into office in the Conyers city elections.

Mayor Randy Mills won 91 percent of the vote in the race against challenger Kathy Harvey, who won 9 percent of the vote.

District 2 Post 1 incumbent Councilman Chris Bowen won 75 percent of the vote in the race against challengers Tony Adams and Don Williamson, who had 8 percent and 16 percent respectively, and one write-in vote. District 1 incumbent councilman Cleveland Stroud, who ran unopposed, won 100 percent of the 48 ballots cast for him.

About 665 voters turned out for this election, or about 10.79 percent of active registered voters in the city - about what was projected by the Board of Elections office. The results are unoffical until after the provisional ballots are reviewed and the results are certified on Friday morning at the Board of Elections office.

Mayoral race

The candidates were smiling but subdued as the results came in.

Mills said for him, this election "got personal" for the first time in his involvement in local politics.

"I had a history teacher that said in poltics, you never take it personally. This, for whatever reason, got personal," Mills said. "It wasn’t for me, it was really almost an affront for this community." He described it as a "slap in the face" and an assault to the citizens in the community such as Judge Clarence Vaughn, Rev. Al Sadler, former Mayor Charles Walker, and Councilman Cleveland Stroud who gave of themselves to make the community a better place. "I think that hit a nerve. Hit a nerve with me and hit a nerve in the community."

"I’ve been in politics at the local level for 20 years... In all the years I’ve been involved here, I’ve never seen anybody run here with the background that my opponent had."

Harvey had remained in the mayoral race after it was revealed she was facing felony charges for theft by conversion and forgery in Newton County stemming from a 2004 incident. She entered a guilty plea to the theft by conversion charge on Oct. 26 and was sentenced under the first offender act, which allowed her to continue to run for public office.

Mills said, "I had confidence in our community anyway and confidence in the city. I think the election showed it. It showed me the community did stand on its principles on what is right."

Calls and an email to Harvey were not returned by press time.

District 2, Post 1

In the District 2 Post 1 race, candidate Tony Adams had also pleaded guilty to a felony drug posession charge from 2003 and was also sentenced under the first offender act.

He congratuated incumbent Councilman Chris Bowen, who won 75 percent of the vote in the three way race.

"He’s done well. He’s obviously been on the seat since 1991. The citizens respect him in his actions. It’s a great experience for me. I’ve learned a lot. I look forward to becoming even more active in the community. I look forward to another opportunity to put myself in a position to help improve the city." Adams said this election helped get his name out into the public and said he was not ruling out running for public office again in the future.

"This is just the beginning of whatever happens. I'm at the fork right now," Adams said, shortly before the results were announced.

After hearing the results, Bowen said, "I’m very honored the citizens expressed their confidence and gave the support that they did. All three of us ran a good campaign. I’m excited and looking forward to working the next four years and keep striving on and providing the best we can for our citizens."

Challenger Don Williamson said he was glad he had run in the election. "I certainly encourage anybody to get out and run for office. If you're wanting to make a difference, this is the way to do it," he said.