Businessman and Choctaw County Sheriff’s dispatcher Tim Cutts will serve as the next mayor of Ackerman following a runoff victory on Tuesday.
Counting affidavit and absentee ballots, Cutts came away with 222 votes, while former Ackerman Alderman and 4-County Electric employee Dale Reid finished with 113.
The results of the race will be certified at Ackerman Town Hall on Wednesday morning.
Cutts will be sworn in to office on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
“I’m glad the people of Ackerman gave me the opportunity to be their mayor,” Cutts said. “I know we have a very good community here. The community is strong, the community is loving. The education system here is second to none. I have the proof to back that up.”
In his first days in office, Cutts said he hopes to be an ambassador for Ackerman and help spread the word about how strong of a community it is in the hopes of attracting more residents.
“My whole dream is to go out and let other people know how strong a community Ackerman is and how much opportunity they have here,” Cutts said. “If they have young children, they need to know that this is one of the best schools … your child can be successful here.”
Cutts will take the office left open following the death of three-term Mayor Dick Cain, who died in November 2017.
In the Dec. 19 election, Cutts and Reid finished as the top vote-getters with 161 and 102 votes, respectively. They defeated Levon Murphy, who finished third among the candidates with 89 votes, and Carl “Barney” Phelps, who pulled in 44 votes.
Reid declined to comment following the results of the election.