Chuck Welch, a local banker, received 117 of 391 votes to win the Post 1 City Council seat in the election June 16.

Welch, a life-long resident of the City of Cumming, is the second member of his family to be elected to serve the City. His father, the late Charles Welch Sr., also served on the Cumming City Council from 1972-1986, and later on the Forsyth County Commission.

“It means the world to me,” Welch said after his victory Tuesday.  “My father served the community and public service has always been something I have considered doing. Nothing could mean more to me than to serve Cumming and its citizens.”

Welch will serve the remainder of the Post 1 term, which ends Dec. 31, 2017.

A senior vice president of Cumming-based Community Business Bank, Welch has also served the community through a number of civic and non-profit organizations, including the United Way of Forsyth County, the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce, and the Rotary Club of Forsyth County. He and his wife, Renee, a local attorney, have one young son.

Welch secured 30 percent of the votes in the special election, followed by Linda Ledbetter, a former county commissioner, who garnered 98 votes, just 19 shy of Welch. Julie Tressler, a real estate agent and small business owner, and Roger Crow, a past president of the chamber, tied for third with 88 votes each.

In May, the council appointed Doug Sorrells, former longtime clerk of courts in Forsyth County, to fill the vacancy through the election. Sorrells, who said he had no interest in running for the office, will step down when Welch is sworn in on July 21.

  City of Cumming, Government, Welch