Sams, Lama Win Election
Wednesday, November 8th, 2023
Election Night in Dalton ended in triumph for a longtime member of the City Council. Annalee Harlan Sams won election as Dalton's next mayor Tuesday night with more than 68 percent of the votes cast. Nicky Lama was elected to the City Council from Ward 2 in the only other contested race. Dennis Mock and Tyree Goodlett both won re-election to the council while running unopposed.
Caption: Mayor-Elect Annalee Harlan Sams
Mayor-Elect Sams defeated Tom Causby and Jason Burgin in Tuesday's election, capturing 1,906 of the 2,790 votes cast in the election. Sams previously served for six years as the Ward 2 City Councilmember before stepping down earlier this year to seek the mayor's seat. State law requires elected officials to resign before running for another elected position that would overlap with the term of their currently held office.
"I am profoundly humbled and honored by the overwhelming trust and support you have given me to be not only your next mayor, but the first female mayor in Dalton’s history," Sams said Tuesday night when celebrating the victory.
"As we look ahead, I look forward to the opportunity to collaborate with the City Council in my role as mayor," Sams said. "I extend my heartfelt congratulations to our new Council member, Nicky Lama. Also would like to congratulate Tyree Goodlett and Dennis Mock on their re-election to the city council. Along with Councilmember Steve Farrow and our excellent city staff, we'll forge a powerful team dedicated to making GOOD things happen in Dalton."
On Wednesday morning, Sams said that she is excited to be able to continue working with Dalton's leaders to chart the community's path into the future.
"I was on a great team and I'm glad to be back on a great team," Sams said. "From City staff to the elected officials, I've been a part of a great group of people for six years and I'm glad to get to rejoin them. I also really enjoyed having the chance to work for four years alongside Mayor David Pennington. I'm grateful for the leadership he provided to the City of Dalton."
Sams will begin her term as Dalton's mayor at the first Mayor and Council meeting of 2024.
Nicky Lama won election to Sams' vacated Ward 2 City Council seat on Tuesday, capturing more than 63 percent of the votes cast and defeating Tyler J. Mitchell and Peter Pociask.
Caption: City Councilmember-Elect Nicky Lama
"I honestly was speechless last night. It felt great," Lama said on Wednesday. "We put in a lot of hard work and I had a lot of support from family, friends, and many people in the community who were supporting me. And of course, thanking them was the biggest thing and I’m just proud to be able to have the opportunity to serve our community."
"I’m very excited to be able to work with our current council and continue the good things that Dalton has been working on," he said.
Because he is being elected to serve out an unexpired term, Lama will be sworn in at the next council meeting on November 27th. The regularly scheduled meeting on November 20th has been canceled to allow officials and staff to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday.
