By Jackie Hampton,
Publisher,
Melvin Priester announced in October that he was resigning as city council representative effective Oct. 5, 2020 after serving Ward 2 for seven years and Tuesday a special election was held where seven candidates were vying for the position.
Three women, Angelique Lee, Melinda Todd, Funmilayo Tillman, and three men, Tyrone Lewis, James Paige and Thomas Powell sought to become the next councilperson for Ward 2 but at the end of the day there was no clear winner. Neither candidate received over 50% in such a wide field of candidates.
With a low turn-out of only 17% of registered voters, Lee lead the field with 40% of the vote followed by former City of Jackson Police Chief and former Hinds County Sheriff Tyrone Lewis with 30% of the vote.
Lee, a lobbyist and educator said, “I am very appreciative of the voters who voted for me and I encourage them to return on Dec. 8 for the run-off.”
Lewis, the first African American elected as sheriff of Hinds County in 2011, said his campaign had anticipated a low turn-out after such a high turnout in the November 3 general election.
“We made an attempt to touch as many people as possible. Moving forward, we will be very aggressive with more boots on the ground as we head to the run-off, ” he said.
Lewis said he will continue to run a campaign focusing on crime, economic development and infrastructure. He said the campaign was very appreciative of the volunteers and voters that participated in the special election but Ward 2 voters should not take this campaign lightly.
“My wisdom and experience outweighs anything else,” he said.
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