Ricky Shelton Re-Elected as Cookeville Mayor

Cookeville Mayor Ricky Shelton was re-elected Thursday in the City Council election.

Shelton received roughly 20 percent of the votes, with Laurin Wheaton finishing second. Wheaton will now serve Vice Mayor, replacing Councilman Larry Epps.

Mark Miller and Eric Walker received roughly 14 percent of the votes each. Charles Womack rounds out the five council positions.

Miller said he’s thankful to be elected to Cookeville’s city council.

“I left everything out on the table,” Miller said. “I did it as hard as I can, worked as hard as I can, knocked on as many doors as I could. I am super honored that the citizens of Cookeville have given me this privilege.

Walker said he plans to help continue growing a sense of community within the city.

“If I have one single goal, it’s to create a unity among the community,” Walker said. “A neighborly community that comes downtown and engages one another that has the opportunity to do that.”

Walker said he’s prepared to take on his new role as a city councilman.

“We’ve been in the inner workings, we’ve read the budgets, we’ve been to the meetings,” Walker said. “We’ve been working on this for months now. We’ve seen every council meeting, we’ve seen every vote that’s taken place the last six months. So we’re not stepping into this new. We know where we’re at and we’re ready to start work.”

Miller said he’s also prepared to begin working with members of council.

“I’ve got everybody’s phone numbers, I hang out with everybody, and I know everybody really well,” Miller said. ” I just wanted to make sure we’re cohesive, we’re a strong team, because we need a strong team for our community.”

Councilman Dwight Henry fell roughly 70 votes short and will not serve a second term as a Cookeville councilman.