Lexington Town Council Adds New Member

, Lexington voters returned two incumbents to Town Council, and ousted a 14-year incumbent from the fold in favor of some new blood.

Meanwhile, town voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum that will allow Sunday sales of beer and wine, perhaps as early as January. 

The yes vote means grocery stores, convenience stores, and other retail outlets within town limits may sell beer and wine on Sunday. Sales of alcoholic beverages in bars and restaurants, which are already allowed on Sunday, will be unaffected. Sales of hard liquor will continue to be prohibited on Sundays.

Mayor Randy Halfacre said earlier this week at a Council meeting that it will require an ordinance with two readings before becoming law. He reckoned that upon voter approval, the Council may likely pass the enabling ordinance by year-end and allow Sunday sales shortly after the New Year.

In the Council race, voters were faced with a field of six candidates -- three incumbents and three challengers. In the end, voters elected to return Council members Danny Frazier and to the Council. And joining them next month will be newcomer , 48, the director of operations for .

MacDougall outpolled fellow newcomer Tripp Newsome by slightly more than two dozen votes to take the third and final open seat on Council. Falling just slightly behind Newsome in the vote tally was former Council member Constance Caracter Flemming, who led early in absentee balloting, but fell behind later.

In last night's vote, the big loser was long-time incumbent Richard Thompson, who was ousted from Council after 14 years. Thompson, who was elected in a special election in February 1997 to fill a non-expired term, garnered the least votes of all six candidates, according to the unofficial returns.

Shevchik said he looked forward to working with MacDougall, but also said "it's sad" to lose Thompson.

"He truly loves the community," said Shevchik, the publisher of Lexington Life magazine. "I watched him [tonight] when he kind of realized he wasn't going to win, and I saw his face. He served 14 years. He's done a great job. There was a just a kind of sadness that his time was up.

"Richard works hard and he's done a good a job," he added. "This campaign, its really come down to money. Who can put up the signs, who knows people, whether you have a magazine or run a restaurant -- it's kind of a popularity contest in a way. But Richard served 14 years. He has helped the town grow, and he has done a fabulous job. … I feel bad for him."

While Thompson's replacement celebrated a bit Tuesday night, the celebration was short-lived. 

"I'm out right now actually picking up my campaign signs making sure I'm not littering any of the streets, making sure everything is picked up and cleaned and everything's accounted for," said MacDougall by cell phone, about 90 minutes after the final tally. 

"I'm really just humbled by the voters of Lexington electing me, and I hope I can continue to earn their trust and make them very proud of what I can do on Town Council," he said.

Though he's got another month before being sworn in, MacDougall said he's clear on what he would like to tackle once seated on Council.

"The first thing we've got to tackle is, we've got to tackle the traffic problem," he said. "It's horrendous here in Lexington. It's what I heard all throughout the campaign. People who live in this city and who grew up here, and been here all their lives, don't understand the problems we're having now. [But] there is a solution. We just have to get all the right people at the table, get to talking, make a decision, and move forward."