Smyrna voters will head to the polls one more time to decide the next Ward 3 council representative.

Following a short race that featured five candidates in total, Travis Lindley and Maryline Blackburn will meet in a runoff Dec. 5 with the council seat up for grabs.

A domino effect led to the opening. First, State Rep. Stacey Evans resigned from her seat to run for Georgia governor as a Democrat. Then Teri Anulewicz resigned from the Ward 3 seat after serving on Smyrna’s city council for a decade, opening the door to a new representative.

Lindley grabbed 32.2 percent of the vote (371 votes), while Blackburn drew 28.8 percent (332 votes). The other three candidates were Jeff Carter (22.1 percent, 255 votes), Adam Taylor 15.3 percent, 177 votes) and Marshall Moon (1.7 percent, 19 votes).

Lindley supporters on election day — photo by Haisten Willis