By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

Pelham poll workers are looking to top the city’s 23 percent voter turnout from the city’s Aug. 28 general election during the Oct. 9 Place 4 City Council runoff election.

The Oct. 9 runoff election will be held from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. at the Pelham Civic Complex. Voters will be able to cast their ballots for Place 4 City Council candidates Maurice Mercer and Jim Phillips, neither of who were able to collect a majority of the votes during the Aug. 28 general election.

During the Aug. 28 election, Mercer gained 43 percent of the votes and Phillips collected 26 percent of the votes. Mercer and Phillips beat out fellow Place 4 candidates Jeff Smith, who had 22 percent of the votes and Robert Sullivan, who had 8 percent of the votes.

During the Aug. 28 general election, 3,121 of Pelham’s 13,226 registered voters cast their ballots, equaling a 23.6 percent voter turnout, said Pelham City Clerk Tom Seale. The turnout topped the 2008 general election turnout of about 22.8 percent.

Pelham currently has a population of about 21,352, according to the 2010 census numbers.

After elected, the new Place 4 City Council member will join incoming council members Ron Scott, Karyl Rice, Rick Hayes, Beth McMillan and incoming Mayor Gary Waters. Waters and the new council members are scheduled to be sworn in during a Nov. 5 council meeting at Pelham City Hall.

Mercer and Phillips recently shared their thoughts on several issues facing the city. Their comments can be read at Pelhamreporter.com/2012/09/18/runoff-candidates-share-their-stances.