The race to replace Doug Stoner on the Smyrna city council was trimmed from five candidates to two Tuesday night.

Business owner and Tim Gould and retiree Idella Moore will head to a runoff after finishing as the top two vote-getters. Moore led the way with 29.4 percent (368 votes) of the returns, followed by Gould at 23.3 percent (292 votes). Black narrowly missed moving on, falling just four votes short of Gould.

A runoff will be held July 24 because no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote. Alex Backry (4.9 percent, 61 votes), Brant Suddath (19.4 percent, 243 votes) and Black are now out of the running in the officially nonpartisan race.

“I will continue to promote myself as the only candidate that can and will make serving Ward 6 a full-time job,” said Moore. “I will be fully committed, fully accessible and focused ONLY on serving the residents of Ward 6 and what is good for our community.  As a retiree with no other obligations, I can do that easily.”

Gould said he plans during the runoff to continue what he’s done so far on the campaign trail, and cited his experience managing a business and a knowledge of zoning activity as key advantages he’d bring to the city council. Gould also has children enrolled in Cobb public schools.

“I talked to a lot of people and listened to their concerns, which are supporting schools, smart growth, responsiveness and public safety,” said Gould. “I also knocked on a lot of doors.”

The seat came open when Stoner resigned earlier this year to run for Georgia’s Public Service Commission, but his run for office ended at the primary stage as he was handily beaten by Dawn Randolph, who collected more than 75 percent of the vote.