Handful of votes decides Monroe race

Eddie Rowland will be the Monroe County Commission’s new District 2 representative.

Rowland defeated Chris Ham in a runoff Tuesday, 652 votes to 645.

Ham and Rowland were the leading vote-getters earlier this year in a six-candidate battle for the seat left vacant after the death of Commissioner Jim Ham.

Ham served on the commission for about 30 years before he died in a crash in December, just weeks before his new four-year term was set to begin.

This story was originally published April 18, 2017 at 8:45 PM with the headline "Handful of votes decides Monroe race."