Lasseter wins Gwinnett District 1 seat in runoff

Shirley Fanning-Lasseter has had a lot of experience leading a city in Gwinnett, but now she'll have the chance to tackle something bigger: leading the county. The former Duluth mayor was victorious in her Aug. 5 Republican primary runoff against Gwinnett Village CID and MARTA board member Bruce LeVell for the District 1 seat.

Since there is no Democratic opposition, Lasseter will take the seat in November.

With 97.3 percent of precincts reporting, the woman known by many as "Mayor Shirley" garnered a 61.19 percent margin (3,060 votes) over her opponent's 38.81 percent (1,941). This victory for Lasseter comes after the July 15 primary where she could not secure a majority over LeVell or their other opponent, Carol Hassell, a former Suwanee councilmember. LeVell's margin over Hassell then was little more than approximately 20 votes.

During the weeks leading up to the runoff, Hassell endorsed LeVell for the win.

Elsewhere, the Republican runoff for chairman of the county commission saw incumbent Charles Bannister one step closer to keeping his seat after besting Lorraine Green, who vacated her post in District 1 to run for the top job. Bannister's 51.43 percent (12,294) was enough to overcome the soon to be former commissioner's 48.57 percent (11,610) total.

The Chairman will now move on to face Democrat Vincent Passariello in the Nov. 4 general election.
- www.gwinnettherald.com

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