Fred Richards will be the newest member of the Flowery Branch City Council.With low voter turnout, Richards beat out opponent Jason Covert by 23 votes in Tuesday’s runoff election to fill Post 3, vacated by Kris Yardley. The final tally was Richards with 116 votes and Covert with 93.The 64-year-old retired real estate and property manager admitted he was “kind of surprised” by the victory.The win means Richards will serve the remainder of the Post 3 term, which ends Dec. 31, 2013.Yardley resigned last year to run for the state House of Representatives.Tuesday’s runoff election was necessary because none of the candidates received more than 50 percent of the votes in the March 6 special election. Richards also claimed the most votes then, with 122, followed by Covert with 119.