ORANGE PARK – After a nearly 30-year absence, Ron Raymond has reclaimed a seat on the Orange Park Town Council in a run-off election held Tuesday.

Raymond beat out retired journalist and owner of Grace House Counseling Center Larry Nichols for Seat 1. The run-off came after Raymond did not secure 50 percent plus one of the vote in the April 11 general election between Nichols and resident Eddie Henley.

However, on May 9, Raymond secured 58.36 percent of the vote with 527 to Nichols’ 376 votes at 41.64 percent, according to the Clay County Supervisor of Elections.

Raymond ran with the promise of being a hawk for what he saw as a “bloated” budget.

Town officials will swear in Raymond on May 16 to a three-year term. Town council seats are non-partisan.

Incumbent Mayor Eugene Nix narrowly lost Council Seat 2 to Alan Watt by a seven-vote margin. Watt received 477 votes, 50.37 percent, while Nix won 470 votes at 49.63 percent.

A week after the April 11 election, Nix said his margin of defeat was due to non-residents of Orange Park having cast votes in the election.

Ultimately, Nix did not file a proper contest with the Clay County Clerk of Courts, and instead sent a letter to Supervisor of Elections Chris Chambless detailing what he believed to be a fraudulent vote cast from a resident of Fleming Island.

Nix said although one fraudulent vote would not have changed the outcome of the election, he wanted to ensure all voters lived within the Town of Orange Park limits for the integrity of future elections. Nix said if there was one fraudulent vote then there were bound to be others.

Chambless responded to his request March 4 in a letter and said Nix’s claims were baseless.

“Voter residency guidelines provided by the Florida Department of State/Division of Elections state that legal residency is not defined in law,” Chambless wrote. “However, over the years the courts and the Florida Department of State/Division of Elections have construed legal residency to be where a person mentally intends to make his or her permanent residence for purposes of registration.”