The votes have been tallied, and the winners are confirmed. On Nov. 11, John C. Riggs, a GSU alumnus, won a seat on the Statesboro City Council.

He will be representing District 4, which includes a long list of student housing facilities: Bermuda Run, Cambridge at Southern, Campus Crossing, Campus Rentals, Copper Beach, Eagle Village, Garden District, Garden Villas, Heritage Square, Kennedy Res. Complex, Lanier Apartments, Pinewood Court, Plantation Villas, Sherwood Forest,Southern Villas, Stadium Walk, The Avenue at Southern, The Exchange, The Seasons, University Court, Southern Courtyard, University Pines and University Place.

Of the possible 321 votes in this election for city councilmen, Riggs received over 76 percent of the total with 245 votes.

Sonny Riggs, John Riggs’ father said that they “appreciate the students getting out and voting,” though he wished both more city and student voters would have participated.

Of the 12,827 registered, 779 turned in a ballot, only 6.07 percent of what could have been. With regard to the student population he will represent here at Georgia Southern, Riggs said, “I hope that I can be representative of [students]. I hope I can get their input and their cooperation.”

On Tuesday night, the mayor of Statesboro was also elected. Joe R. Brannen officially won by a tally of 592 votes out of 663, which means he won with nearly 90 percent of the vote.

Brannen said of his plans as mayor that he is “going [to get] ready for the new year and try to get everybody on the same page. I am just looking forward coming January 1 to do everything I can for the citizens of Statesboro.”

Regarding students, Brannen said, “We are very proud to have them in our community. They’re outstanding citizens, [and] we want to be sure to provide safety for them while they are here in our community – the mayor’s office is open [if they need] to contact me as far as suggestions that [need] to be done that would make things better for them.”

Brannen also stated that he is also a graduate of Georgia Southern College, and that there “wouldn’t be Statesboro without Georgia teachers, Georgia Southern College and Georgia Southern University.

Brannen said that Riggs was a “fine young man, I’ve known him since he was very young and [I’m] just delighted to have him; he will be an outstanding council person.”

Also, Tommy Blitch retained his city council seat Tuesday night, winning with 54.14 percent of the 314 possible votes for District 1.