Ashburn City Council seat decided by 1 vote

ASHBURN, Ga. (WALB) - The old cliché is every vote matters. In Ashburn, every vote did matter for a city council seat in the 2022 midterm. Andrea Pierce was re-elected for her third term in city council over challenger Jonathan Perry.

Andrea Pierce was running against 8 other candidates, but only two could get a council seat. On election night, Pierce was told she did not get the seat.

“I was told that Mr. Johnny Burgess and Mr. Jonathan Perry won,” Pierce said.

She was informed there were more ballots yet to be counted. The mail-in ballots put her in the lead by 2 votes.

“I had to wait on 5 more provisional ballots. It was a long wait, and I found out that I won the election by the grace of God,” Pierce said.

After all the votes were tallied, Pierce won by just one vote — her own.

Pierce told WALB she did vote for herself, so she was the deciding vote.

“One vote basically makes a difference. That’s why everyone should vote. It’s your right to vote,” Pierce said.

She says her work is just getting started.

“My goals are to see the city thriving. To not see any boarded-up businesses downtown. To see everything open. Build homes. We need more homes, new businesses. We need more industries to come in,” Pierce said.

Pierce is a woman of faith. She is also a veteran. Pierce was a Marine, a member of the Navy and a part of special ops.

Recently, she has volunteered with girl scouts, joined the library board and became the Commander of American Post Legion 98. Pierce has also donated to the Recreation Department in Ashburn so kids can participate in sports and have a scholarship for graduating seniors in Turner County.

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