The election for Ward One alderman is headed to a runoff with incumbent Dorsey Cameron in a tight race to keep his seat.

On a crowded ballot of five candidates, challenger Randy Belcher earned the most votes Friday, with Cameron in second place.

Belcher didn’t garner enough votes to win without a runoff, however. He received 194 votes, or 40 percent of the Ward One turnout. Cameron captured 163 votes, about 34 percent of ballots cast.

A candidate needs more than 50 percent of the vote to win.

The runoff on May 21 will pit Belcher and the 16-year incumbent Cameron directly against each other.

Belcher referenced Cameron’s long incumbency when discussing his own strong showing.

“I think they just want to see a change,” Belcher said of Ward One voters.

Cameron, however, feels now is not the time for Ward One to lose his experience.

“We’re going to have a new mayor and some new aldermen around the board,” Cameron said. “I have the experience and know how to keep being an alderman for Ward One. I’m working off of experience, not just saying what I can do. I know what I can do.”

With no Republican or independent candidates in the race, the winner of the Ward One Democratic runoff will become the ward’s representative at the board.

The other three challengers in Ward One finished far behind the two leaders. Robert Berry received 94 votes, about 19 percent, Christopher Harris 13 votes, about 2 percent, and Kermit Sartin 11 votes, about 2 percent.

Ward One will be the only runoff held on May 21. A runoff in Ward Three was theoretically possible, but incumbent Mary Wilson easily passed the 50 percent threshold.

Looking toward the runoff, Belcher, a deputy with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, said he’s encouraged by his first place finish in the primary.

“The people that didn’t vote for the incumbent, last time they had four choices; but now they’ve got just one choice,” Belcher said. “The people on the borderline, they’ll come over now.”

Cameron, however, feels confident he can galvanize the needed support.

“Everyone’s got two weeks to really set down and think about the two candidates that are running,” Cameron said. “I hope people decide the key thing is experience.”