AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – Augusta is getting a new sheriff after Gino Brantley defeated Sheriff Richard Roundtree in a runoff election.

When Sheriff Richard Roundtree didn’t get 50 percent plus one vote in May’s Primary election Gino Brantley had one more shot at unseating the incumbent.
Tuesday he became the projected winner of the democratic primary and he says he has mixed emotions.

“Tired, been exhausted, but elated at the same time,” smiled Brantley.

Voter Genessa Travis thinks voters chose right and that it is time for a change.

“It is great. I think it’s great. I think after 12 years, it’s time for some new blood. The city has changed. And sometimes when you’ve been in a position for a long time, you’ve got to get probably get stuck in your ways and may not be open to new things,” she said. “So bring in somebody else new and I’ve seen Mr. Brantley at several functions and I like what he says he’s going to do with the city.”

Sheriff Roundtree posted to social media thanking people for their support and asking for prayers for himself and his deputies during transition.

Brantley tells NewsChannel 6 that Sheriff Roundtree called him Tuesday night after the results came out.

“He congratulated me and said he looked forward to speaking with me in the next week or two.”

Brantley said he talked to a lot of people while he was campaigning and that he hopes to address their concerns once he takes office. He added that transparency is the best way to do that.

“By being engaged in public forums, by having the deputies out in the neighborhoods, meeting with people, knowing the people. All that helps build trust and helps bridge the relationship between the community and law enforcement,” Brantley explained.

Travis said she was impressed by Brantley’s plans when he was campaigning and looks forward to seeing if he can make a difference.

“In order to make a change, you’ve got to be out there among the people talking to the citizens and seeing what we need. You know, you can make changes behind a desk, but if you don’t, you’re not talking to your constituents or your citizens, It doesn’t it doesn’t really do anything. So I enjoy that he comes out and he’s talks to you and he’s not talking at you.”

Brantley will take office in January if no one qualifies to run against him in November.

Brantley may have another candidate to beat in November. Richard Dixon qualified as an independent candidate and if he gets enough signatures on a petition, he will be on the ballot in the general election.

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – The unofficial results have been received, and according to the unofficial results, Charles Lyons is the projected winner of the Augusta Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Runoff.

With 68 out of 68 precincts reporting unofficial results, Charles Lyons received 65.49% of the votes while Matt Matson received 34.51% of the votes.

This is a developing report. Count on WJBF NewsChannel 6 for more election coverage as it becomes available.

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A few days after the Junenteeth parade, Augusta celebrated the holiday again with a nearly daylong festival Wednesday.

The official holiday is June 19, although the revelry started over the weekend across the CSRA with parades and other gatherings.

The big event in Augusta was Wednesday’s Juneteenth festival in the parking lot of the James Brown Arena.

Hosted by Band of Brothers, it began at 12:30 p.m. and will keep going until 9:00.

Vendors were selling food, clothing and crafts, with a designated kids’ area and lots of music.

“I basically make wreaths and I do other crafts I do cups, T-shirts and different kinds of crafts,” said Loeontyne Jackson with Blessed Creations by Tina.

You can find just about anything at the festival ranging from body care products, clothing, jewelry and fun activities for the kids. But most of all, you’ll find lots and lots of food.

“We have seafood gumbo. We also have oxtail with mac and cheese, cabbage, white rice, green beans. We also have Creole pasta and fried fish,” said Tenisha Weathersby and Angininque Weathersby with Delta Girls Soul Food.

So many options, you’re bound to find something you like such as pasta, meats and even desserts.

“We have a mac and cheese so come out and get some free samples,” said Weathersby.

Other vendors such as Lustful Lemonade, Inc. were also offering a variety of drinks.

“We have different flavored lemonade. You got flirtatious blue, kiss my peach, that’s not my strawberry,” they said.

But it’s also important to remember why everyone is here.

Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, found out they had been freed — after the end of the Civil War, and two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.

“Texas always celebrated it. Now the whole world is celebrating and we just brought in the whole emancipation, something for our people to realize America is working towards its greatness,” said Carlton Edwards Wilson III, who attended the festival.

And it’s important to remember where we came from.

“Juneteenth is something very important. It’s very important that you know who you are,” he said.

Since it was designated a federal holiday in 2021, Juneteenth has become more universally recognized beyond Black America. Many people get the day off work or school, and there are a plethora of street festivals, fairs, concerts and other events.

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