Hartselle dry.
Supporters of Families for a Safe Hartselle thank voters for their support the Wednesday after the wet/dry referendum.
Hartselle voters once again rejected an attempt to legalize the sale of alcoholic beverages within the city limits while voting in record numbers in a Municipal Option Election on Tuesday.
Families for a Safe Hartselle prevailed in their fight to continue the ban on the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages in the city by a 467-vote margin of victory. But the gap separating “no” and “yes” votes was much wider in 2002 with a margin of 1,394 votes.
Complete but unofficial results showed that a record 5,849 voters cast ballots. The previous high was in the 2002 General Election when 5,444 votes were counted.
In the liquor Option Election, there were 3,158 “no” votes compared to 2,691 “yes” votes.
Families for a Safe Hartselle met at Eddie Preuitt Ford to tabulate the results and celebrated with shouts, hugs and prayer after it became apparent they had won. Some of them took positions on South Sparkman Street and waved “thank you” signs at 7 a.m. Wednesday.
“God was on our side,” businessman Jim Corum said. “We had a lot of hard work and effort and I want to thank everyone who had a part in this. Let’s continue to strive to keep Hartselle a good place to live.”
Edith Bennich voiced concern after rejoicing over the win.
“Some of us are getting too old for this,” she said. “We need to concentrate on recruiting people who are under 40 years of age -young people who support our cause and are willing to do what’s right.”
“To me it is a vote in support of the quality of life we enjoy here,” said Jeff Johnson, a leader in the vote “no” campaign. “I believe the people did not want to take the risk of bringing in alcohol revenue and having to deal with the adverse consequences. We had a lot of people who were willing to stand up and fight for what’s right for Hartselle. I commend their resolve and courage.”
Hartselle Citizens for Economic Development counted votes at The Depot and although they expressed disappointment in the outcome of municipal option election, they were undeterred in their desire to see the city legalize alcohol sales.
“This is the end of the 2010 campaign and the beginning of a 2112 campaign,” said Bob Francis, a leader for the “wet” forces. We will be much more forceful in 2012.
“We do not have a captive organization like the churches behind us. We have to deal with the community at large. We don’t have the force sat hand that will give us a block vote.”
He also called for forces from both sides of the issue to come together for the benefit of the community.
“We can’t do anything well unless the entire community is behind it,” he said.
