Dana Henry gets sworn into office Monday after the City of Athens certified the results of last week's municipal election during a meeting at City Hall. She will represent District 4 on the City Council. City Attorney Shane Black swore Henry in while she had her hand placed on a Bible held by her husband Scott Henry.

The results of last week’s municipal election for the City of Athens have now been certified and are official. Mayor Ronnie Marks will serve another four-year term, and Dana Henry will be the new representative for District 4 on the City Council.

The election results were certified by the Council during a special-called meeting Monday at City Hall. City Clerk Annette Threet and Kim Glaze, executive secretary of the mayor’s office, opened up sealed boxes containing provisional ballots from the election.

Threet said 31 ballots were marked as provisional last week, and 28 were accepted by the Board of Registrars. This meant there were not enough to affect the outcome of either race.

Threet read the results as they were opened. Marks received 13 more votes, bringing his tally to 1,975. Of the other provisional ballots, Russell Johnson received nine additional votes (1,138), and Brian Terry (387) and Mark Wilson (154) each received three.

“It feels good,” Marks said about his reelection. “It goes back to the grassroots campaign movement that we put together. We got out among the people, and they wanted to see us. They voiced their opinion.”

The race between Henry and opponent Marcia Day was a close one, with only 39 votes separating the two District 4 candidates. The official split is now 40, as Henry (473) received three more votes from provisional ballots to Day’s (433) two.

“I am excited,” Henry said. “It’s a little odd. It still hasn’t sunk in, I suppose, but I’ve been given my books to study. I feel like I have something concrete to work with now, and I’m ready to charge ahead.”

Since the District 4 spot was vacant before the election, the City Council voted to have Henry join the group at its Sept. 14 meeting instead of waiting until November.

“It’s great that all five districts in the city will be heard once again,” Henry said.

Marks said he is excited to have Henry join the City Council, saying she will add not only female representation but the “intelligence of a business owner.”

“We have a lot of projects going on, and we’re getting ready to do our budgets,” he said. “We are ready to hit the ground running.”