Toms Elected Warner Robins Mayor

WARNER ROBINS, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The results are in, and Randy Toms is the next mayor of Warner Robins.

Toms upset Joe Musselwhite tonight, racking up nearly 1,500 more votes than the retired Warner Robins Public Works Director.

Toms is a retired fire fighter from Warner Robins, a former US Airman and has served as Chaplain of the Warner Robins Fire Department and the Georgia Association of Fire Chiefs.

A packed house filled Toms’ watch party earlier tonigh as they watched the numbers slowly roll in.

Once Tom’s realized he’d won, he started to get emotional, hugging his family.

He says his vision is to make the international city even better, and make it a place where residents can raise a family, work and have great lives.

He wants to start making that happen on day one of his term.

“I’m so very excited about the way this turned out and the way the people of Warner Robins have taken what I’ve said and seen my vision for the city,” said Toms. “I’m just excited about getting out there and getting to know the people even better so that we know where we want to go to have the vision and we’re able to move forward to accomplishing that vision.”

Toms says tonight’s victory is a special one.

His mother passed away earlier this year and today is her birthday–he even had the crowd sing happy birthday.

Toms thinks winning tonight is the perfect gift for his mom.

After his disappointing loss, Musselwhite told us, he’s at peace with the voters decision.

Joe Musselwhite is a big golfer, so it was only appropriate that his supporters gathered tonight at the International City Golf Course in Warner Robins to watch the results roll in.

Musselwhite looked on as the TV continued to refresh with results, and even as the race edged for his opponent, he continued to walk around, shake hands and keep a smile on his face. Despite his loss, Musselwhite stayed very humble and calm in his loss, wishing the best for his opponent.

“Well I’m at peace with it, I got a good faith and I’ll say again–I’ve got good supporters,” said Musselwhite. “I got a good wife and family. And I understood going into this thing that there’s a possibility of coming up short. So I’m at peace with this I’ve been at peace since day one.”

Musselwhite’s sisters spoke strongly about the family bond they shared with their brother.

“We know we all came from strong stock,” said Mary Katherine Liberty, Musselwhite’s sister. “Our parents were very strong people–they’re no longer with us but they would be so proud of my brother. He exhibits all of the qualities that they instilled in us. He’s very strong, has a very strong work ethic. He worked his campaign very well–very smart, very strong. I don’t think there’s anything he could have done differently.”

The family theme hung in the room throughout the night, with Musselwhite’s sisters and other immediate family playing such a large role in the campaign.

It truly was a family effort.