Alcohol Allowed: Every Vote Counts in Controversial Wet/Dry Election in Eastland County
By: Homa Bash
Updated: November 7, 2012
After failing several times in years past, alcohol sales are now allowed in Cisco, Eastland and Rising Star.
In a true testament to the saying "every vote counts" -- just two votes separated the wet-dry election results in Eastland.
"The ballot allowed people to vote their conscience and they did that and evidently, it's pretty split what they wanted in town," said Mark Pipkin, Mayor of Eastland.
For months, signs peppered lawns across Eastland and Cisco, both for and against allowing alcohol sales.
Come Wednesday morning and the results are clear -- beer and wine will soon be sold within city limits.
In a city with just over 2,000 registered voters, 1,205 Eastland residents turned out to cast their ballots in the controversial election.
In the precinct that includes part of Eastland, Cisco and Rising Star, 2,700 people voted to turn "wet."
But that's not the only thing that drove people to the polls.
"I'm pretty sure the majority of people came out to vote for president," said Cisco Chief of Police Larry Weikel.
So how big of an impact will the results of the wet/dry election have on Cisco and Eastland?
City leaders on Wednesday said besides a small boost in sales tax revenue -- not much.
"Most people have vehicles and can drive the ten miles to get alcohol -- and they would, so it's not really going to affect us that much," Weikel said.
"I think alcohol is prevalent in Eastland from other sources other than buying it in Eastland so I don't think it'll be a big change," said Pipkin.
For residents like Judy Bilbrey, who supported the move, any change is welcome.
"I think the younger generations are wanting to see some growth in the community and what we've been doing hasn't worked, so it's time to try something different," Bilbrey said.
The owners of Smokin' Willie's in Cisco were among the first to push for the petition allowing beer and wine sales several years ago -- an issue that was shot down time after time -- until now.
The election results will be canvassed on Nov. 19th, meaning the final numbers will be reported then.
From there, businesses can begin applying for permits allowing them to sell beer and wine for off-premise consumption.
Restaurants will be able to sell beer and wine, plus mixed beverages, for on-premise consumption.
In a true testament to the saying "every vote counts" -- just two votes separated the wet-dry election results in Eastland.
"The ballot allowed people to vote their conscience and they did that and evidently, it's pretty split what they wanted in town," said Mark Pipkin, Mayor of Eastland.
For months, signs peppered lawns across Eastland and Cisco, both for and against allowing alcohol sales.
Come Wednesday morning and the results are clear -- beer and wine will soon be sold within city limits.
In a city with just over 2,000 registered voters, 1,205 Eastland residents turned out to cast their ballots in the controversial election.
In the precinct that includes part of Eastland, Cisco and Rising Star, 2,700 people voted to turn "wet."
But that's not the only thing that drove people to the polls.
"I'm pretty sure the majority of people came out to vote for president," said Cisco Chief of Police Larry Weikel.
So how big of an impact will the results of the wet/dry election have on Cisco and Eastland?
City leaders on Wednesday said besides a small boost in sales tax revenue -- not much.
"Most people have vehicles and can drive the ten miles to get alcohol -- and they would, so it's not really going to affect us that much," Weikel said.
"I think alcohol is prevalent in Eastland from other sources other than buying it in Eastland so I don't think it'll be a big change," said Pipkin.
For residents like Judy Bilbrey, who supported the move, any change is welcome.
"I think the younger generations are wanting to see some growth in the community and what we've been doing hasn't worked, so it's time to try something different," Bilbrey said.
The owners of Smokin' Willie's in Cisco were among the first to push for the petition allowing beer and wine sales several years ago -- an issue that was shot down time after time -- until now.
The election results will be canvassed on Nov. 19th, meaning the final numbers will be reported then.
From there, businesses can begin applying for permits allowing them to sell beer and wine for off-premise consumption.
Restaurants will be able to sell beer and wine, plus mixed beverages, for on-premise consumption.
