Jorgensen wins Houston council seat

HOUSTON — New vote totals resulting from counting early voting ballots has changed the outcome of one city council race.

Insurance agent Gina F. Jorgensen pulled ahead of incumbent councilwoman Ruth Blanchard after early voting results were tallied, according to official results from the city of Houston.

“The council that’s sitting now is just absolutely phenomenal, they’re really good people and I’m looking forward to working with them. It’s going to be fun,” Jorgensen said when reached Thursday. “It’ll be three years of my life, and hopefully longer.”

On election night, Jorgenson trailed Blanchard 87-89. But this week those results changed to favor Jorgensen 112 votes to Blanchard’s 97 votes.

There also were five write-in votes and 35 votes for septic tank pumper Kenney D. Champ.

Elsewhere on the ballot, results remained the same as election night. Mayor Virgie Thompson retained her seat — a more-or-less foregone conclusion since no one signed up to challenge her — and incumbent Alma Hartley maintained her lead over former city councilwoman Rosemary Burnett.

The city council is set to hold a special meeting Monday to certify the election and decide which of them will serve as mayor and deputy mayor.

Jorgensen said she’s ready to get down to business and hopes to work on paving roads in the city.

“We’re looking at little things like attempting to get a gun range out there,” Jorgensen said. “People have already started asking what about a gas station? It’s not feasible right now.”

As she said during the Sept. 29 forum for council candidates, as far as she’s concerned reviving the city’s defunct police department is off the table.

“It got totally out of hand. In a budget of $500,000-plus for our little bitty town, it’s absolutely ridiculous,” she said. “You can’t pull from Peter to pay Paul because eventually Peter’s going to run out of money.”

She said she wants to make sure that as the city grows it grows right. She said she came from a place where growth was handled poorly and lives next to another.

“It’s my home and I love it and I don’t want it to go the way that it did in Colorado, my little bitty town there,” Jorgensen said. “I like Wasilla, but I wouldn’t live there and that’s why I live here.”

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.