Jackson City Council Election Guide

Jackson City Council Election Guide

by Julian Mills

Since 1985, a seven-member city council has governed the City of Jackson with each representing the seven wards, or sections, of the city.

This year, election officials will hold Jackson City Council primary elections for each party on April 6, which will decide who represents their respective parties for each ward in the general election. If no single candidate receives a simple majority for each ward during the primary, a runoff election will be held April 27.

Independent and Libertarian candidates will not be in the primary races, but will instead face Democrat and Republican candidates in the general election. The general election for both mayor and city council is set for June 8.

Who’s Running?

This year’s primary election ballot will have 20 candidates, spread across the seven wards of the city. Not all wards are contested, however. Republican Ward 1 Councilman Ashby Foote is running as the uncontested incumbent for Ward 1. Foote has repeatedly called for tougher action on crime, noting the city’s high murder rate for 2020.

Democrat Ward 2 Councilwoman Angelique Lee is running uncontested after winning a special election last October to replace previous Democrat Councilman Melvin Priester Jr. Lee’s four-pronged campaign focused on lowering city crime while promoting infrastructure, economic development and beautification.

Incumbent Democrat Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth I. Stokes is running again this year for what would be his seventh total term in the city council, with some gaps. Crime and infrastructure are on the top of Stokes’ list of priorities. “We’ve got to do something to stop all these killings,” Stokes said in a January press briefing.

The veteran councilman faces competition from candidates Gwen Ward Chapman and E. Sirena Wilson. Chapman previously ran on a campaign promoting hemp production in the state, while Wilson previously ran for the District 1 Justice Court judge seat, The winner here will face independent candidate Patricia Williams in the general election.

Incumbent Democratic Ward 4 Councilman De’Keither Stamps is not seeking re-election to the city council after winning the special election runoff race for District 66 of the Mississippi House of Representatives. Rep. Stamps’ departure means an open race for the ward.

In an interview on radio station WRBJ, Democratic candidate Larry Maurice Wilson spoke of his reasoning for running. “The platform that I’m currently on as an adviser, as a coach, as a leader in my church, as a leader in the community, I’ve been helping folks already. So as an adviser, I help folks manage their investments, manage their retirement funds,” he said. “Managing other folks money definitely gives me an edge I would say.”

In a statement to WJTV, Democraticcandidate and Democratic Party Field Leader Jacqueline R. Amos gave a statement detailing her candidacy.

“Watching the suffering and fear all around us over the past 10 months has reminded me that every person who has something to give back to help improve the lives of our fellow citizens and communities has an obligation to serve,” Amos said. “Today I am honored to qualify as a candidate for City Council in Jackson’s Fourth Ward. I am running because I have always put people above politics, and that is what we need now more than ever. I look forward to hearing about the hopes, fears, and dreams of my fellow Jacksonians in the Fourth Ward in the weeks and months ahead. Jackson is my home, and I will serve this city with all that I have to give.

Democratic candidate Brian C. Grizzell, whose previous work includes serving as a planning and rezoning commissioner, gave a statement to WJTV detailing his candidacy.

“I am extremely excited to announce my candidacy for City Councilman, Ward 4,” Grizzel said. “We must focus on pressing issues facing the Citizens of Ward 4. Strong leadership is critical to move Ward 4 forward during these uncertain times. I will represent the Citizens of Ward 4 with the same professionalism, tenacity, advocacy, and trust that characterized my work as a Planning and Rezoning Commissioner, representing Ward 4, educator, businessman, and Civil Service Commissioner for the City of Jackson.”

Other candidates include Eddie “Fireman” James, Malcolm Dwight May, Karen Gayle Porter and McKay “Pleshette” Smith.

Incumbent Democratic Ward 5 Councilman Charles H. Tillman seeks to retain his seat this year against Democratic opponents Vernon Hartley, Rickey Jones, James Richard Ridgley Jr., and Adam Troy Sanders in the primary election.

Ward 6 sees incumbent Democratic Ward 5 Councilman Aaron Banks face off against Brad Quinn Davis and Patricia Jackson. The primary election winner will move ahead to face Republican candidate Zidkejah Wilks in the general election.

Incumbent Democrat Ward 7 Councilwoman Virgi Lindsay is running unopposed in the primary, though she will face Libertarian candidate Bryan Keller in the general election.

Candidates can email additional platform information we were enable to obtain by press time to add to this story online to both julian@jacksonfreepress.com and dustin@jacksonfreepress.com.

City Primaries: Tuesday, April 6, from 7 a.m.-7 p.m.

Though every citizen of Jackson may vote for Jackson mayor, votes for Jackson City Council must be cast specifically for the ward in which a resident lives. Voters must register 30 days prior to Election Day, June 8, to be allowed to cast their ballot. It is too late to register to vote in the April 6 primaries.

If you wish to register to vote, there are multiple ways to do so. You can contact the Hinds County Circuit Clerk’s office at, 601-968-6628, the Jackson Municipal Clerks’ office at 601-960-1035, or when you obtain your driver’s license by mail, online, or in person. For more information about how to register to vote you may also contact the city Elections Hotline at 1-800-829-6786. If you wish to register to vote by mail, you may fill out a registration form available at: https://www.sos.ms.gov/Elections-Voting/Documents/Voter_Registration.pdf

Absentee ballots are also allowed for city council races. Absentee applications may be requested 60 days before the general election, which means for the general election anyone can request them starting on April 6. An application must be filled out before the ballot itself can be sent. Any voter who will be away during the election or for whom going to their physical polling place would be an undue burden is eligible for an absentee ballot. For more information on absentee ballots you can call the numbers listed above.

When voting in any election you will be asked to present photo identification. If you do not present a photo ID, however, you can still cast your ballot, and you may not be turned away from voting. You have the right to request an Affidavit ballot in that moment, in which an attending official must sign off as a witness to your vote. You will then have five business days to present an acceptable ID to the Municipal Clerks office.

This identification can take the form of:

1. Driver’s license

2. Photo ID card issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the State of Mississippi

3. United States passport

4. Employee photo ID card issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the U.S. government

5. License to carry a pistol or revolver

6. Tribal photo ID card

7. Student ID card, issued by any accredited college, university or community or junior college in the State of Mississippi

8. Mississippi Voter ID card

9. Any photo ID issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the U.S. government or any state government, such as a driver’s license issued by a state other than Mississippi.

You also have the right to an affidavit ballot if you have a religious objection to having your photograph taken and do not have any photo ID at all. If this is the case, you would then have five business days after that specific election day to sign an Affidavit of Religious Objection in the Municipal Clerk’s Office.

Once registered, you may cast your ballot in your ward’s primary race, any potential runoff race, and the general election. Again, these elections are on April 6, April 27, and June 8 respectively.

Polling Place Changes

Some polling places have changed this year either temporarily or permanently. These changes, as of March 18 per the City of Jackson, are as follows:

Temporary Change

Ward 1

• Precinct #45 (St. Phillips Church) has temporarily moved to McLeod Elementary School, 1616 Sandalwood Place which is Precinct #36. Voting will be held inside the cafeteria.

Change for Municipal Elections Only

Ward 3

• Precinct 12 (Bonner Institutional Church) located at 3032 Bishop Avenue

• Precinct 50 (St. Luther Church) located at 1040 Banks Street

Permanent Changes

Ward 4

• Precinct #24 (formally French Elementary School) voting will now be conducted at George Kurt’s Fieldhouse Gymnasium located at 125 Gymnasium Drive, Jackson, MS

• Precinct #90 (formally Woodville Elementary School) voting will now be conducted at Christ Tabernacle Church located at 1201 Cooper Road

Ward 5

• Precinct #89 (formerly located inside the Metrocenter Mall) voting will now be conducted at Greater Mount Bethel Church located at 4125 Robinson Road

• Precinct #54 (Hardy Middle School) voting will be conducted at JPS Career Development Center located at 2703 1st Avenue

Ward 6

• Precinct #96 (formerly Miracle Temple Evangelistic Church) 418 Lakeshore Drive voting will now be conducted at Fire Station #22 located at 1590 Lakeshore Drive

• Precinct #94 (formerly located at Higher Ground Family Worship) 3520 Forest Hill Road voting will now be conducted at Willowood Community Center located at 229 Lake Cove Drive

No changes have been made to Ward 2 or Ward 7. These voting precincts will remain the same.