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Ward 6 Councilman Robert “Bobby” Cutchins has been elected mayor in Franklin, receiving 57.6% of the vote according to the Virginia Department of Elections website’s unofficial results, which show that all votes have been counted for the city.

Cutchins, who began serving on the Franklin City Council in May 2017, received 1,658 votes in the mayoral election. This was his first time running for mayor in Franklin.

“I’m very humbled and honored to have been chosen, and I’m ready to get to work and continue to move things forward and see what we can do,” he said.

As he prepares to take on the role currently held by Frank M. Rabil, Cutchins noted he has many priorities on his mind.

“I’m looking forward to working with the schools any way I can,” he said. “We definitely need the betterment out of education for our children to be the best they can be for the future, because they are our future. I’m looking forward to working with the police chief and see his needs and the needs of the community and try to assist anybody I can. I look forward to working with this council — it’s a good bunch of folks that have a heart for Franklin, and it’s going to be good.”

Running against Cutchins in the mayoral election was Ward 4 Councilman Dr. Linwood Johnson, who received 1,209 votes, equaling 42% of the vote. Johnson will continue his service in the Ward 4 seat on the council.

“I just wanted to thank the citizens of the city of Franklin for voting for me and having confidence in me, and I would like them to know that I will be working for them, for the betterment of the city, and with the new council to move forward for the city of Franklin,” Johnson said.

In the Franklin City Council races, incumbent Wynndolyn H. Copeland defeated challenger Ricky L. Sykes to retain the Ward 5 seat, and incumbent Gregory McLemore won reelection to the Ward 3 seat amid a write-in challenge from Charlie Ashburn Jr. 

Jessica Grant Banks ran unopposed for the Ward 6 seat and won handily.

For the Ward 5 seat, Copeland received 59.8% of the vote (242 votes).

“I’m happy that I won reelection,” she said. “I’d just like to thank the citizens of Ward 5 and the community for their support, and I look forward to working with and for the citizens of Franklin and the surrounding communities.”

Sykes finished with 40% of the vote (162 votes).

For the Ward 3 seat, McLemore received 236 votes, representing 70% of the vote.

“I would like to thank the people of Ward 3 for having confidence in my representation, and I look forward to working with a new administration in any capacity that I can and trying to create methods to bring revenue to our city without taxing our residents with fees and taxes,” he said.

This will be the fourth term for McLemore, who is the senior council member.

Write-in votes for Ward 3 totaled 101, translating to 30% of the vote.

Banks received 397 votes for the Ward 6 seat, representing 95.2% of the vote.

“I’m just grateful, and I plan to be a team player in working to move the city forward,” she said.

There were 20 write-in votes for Ward 6, equaling 4.8% of the vote.