The Franklin County elections this past week saw voters make several moves when it comes to elected positions from Winchester to Estill Springs.

Former Winchester City Councilman Steve Cagley reclaimed the position he vacated in 2023 and will be joined by newcomer Tim Wright following the municipal elections on Aug. 7.

Wright and Cagley led a five-person field for three open positions with incumbent David Eldridge Jr. retaining the spot that he was named to earlier this year.

Wright recorded 373 votes to lead the pack, followed by Cagley with 338 and Eldridge Jr. with 298. Rounding out the field were incumbent Lydia Curtis Johnson with 278 votes and Douglas Freund with 153.

Wright previously ran for the City Council in 2023 but finished nine votes shy of making the cut during his initial attempt. Cagley will be rejoining the City Council after initially serving on it from 2019 to 2023 before attempting to run for mayor.

Eldridge, who is also a county commissioner, had been appointed to fill the councilman shoes of Michael Sisk in March after Sisk moved outside of Winchester, and Eldridge will now retain the office after his election victory.

In Cowan, Mayor Richard W. Hunt won his re-election bid with 179 votes as challengers Dwayne E. Holman and Stephanie Sweeton finished with 44 and 20 votes, respectively.

Hunt was appointed as Cowan’s new mayor in 2023 following the resignation of then-Mayor Mark Ledbetter.

In a four-way race for three spots on the Cowan City Council, incumbents Ben Merrill and Brandi Speck retained their positions and will be joined by a new member in Amanda Wiseman.

Merrill led all candidates with 158 votes, followed by Speck with 149, Wiseman with 145 and Jackie Cagle with 111.

Incumbent Huntland Mayor Dolton Steele Jr. emerged victorious in his race as he claimed 98 votes to outpace Harry Evans Allen III with 23 votes and Billy R. Damron with 21. Steele has been Huntland’s mayor since 2017.

Two alderman positions were open in Huntland for this election cycle, but Dace A. Benson was the only candidate who qualified to run. Benson captured 108 complementary votes.

There was also a referendum on Huntland’s ballots regarding whether retail package stores should be allowed to sell alcoholic beverages in Huntland. The measure failed in a 71-62 vote.

Incumbent Decherd Aldermen David Hillstrom and Shuler Hopkins were uncontested in their re-election campaigns as Hillstrom received 35 complementary votes and Hopkins received 29.

Estill Springs also had an uncontested race for two alderman positions with incumbent Pat Thomas and Darrell K. Day respectively receiving 21 and 15 complementary votes.