Only a little more than 30 percent of voters in Columbus participated in Tuesday’s general municipal election, but those who did spoke clearly in favor of incumbent Mayor Robert Smith.
Smith, a Democrat, won a second full term in office by a landslide — 69.4 percent of the vote — over Republican challenger Glenn Lautzenhiser and Independent Bo Jarrett.
Counting general and absentee ballots, Smith received 3,580 votes. Lautzenhiser received 1,323, while Jarrett got 255. Results are unofficial until affidavit votes are counted, but Smith’s lead far exceeds the total of those uncounted ballots.
Incumbent Ward 2 Councilman Joseph Mickens, a Democrat, easily won a second term, defeating Republican opponent Susan Mackay for the second straight election. Mackay led 346-344 in general voting, but absentee ballots propelled Mickens to a 529-367 win. Twenty-three percent of votes cast in Ward 2 were cast via absentee ballot. Out of 206 absentee ballots accepted in that ward, 185 were in favor of Mickens.
Citywide, 5,187 of 16,885 registered voters, cast ballots. All but 26 of those were accepted. A total of 822 people, or 15.9 percent, voted absentee.
With Mickens’ and Smith’s wins, the only elected seat in Columbus that will change hands is in Ward 4. Longtime incumbent Fred Stewart was ousted by Marty Turner in a May 21 run-off in his bid for re-election.
Ward 1 Councilman Gene Taylor and Ward 3 Councilman Charlie Box ran unopposed, while Ward 5 Councilman Kabir Karriem and Ward 6 Councilman Bill Gavin won their reelection bids during the May 7 primary.
Smith said he was looking forward to working with city staff and residents of Columbus for four more years.
“It’s been a long journey the last three months, but it was a good journey. I’d like to take this opportunity to first thank God, thank my two campaign managers and the elected officials that helped me during the election and all the supporters,” Smith said. “To my two opponents, especially Mr. Lautzenhiser, he ran a clean race. I can appreciate him running a clean race. We both worked hard and I think that maybe I worked a little harder, and it paid off.”
Lautzenhiser called his campaign the most humbling experience of his life.
“I’ve had so many people say so many good things about me, so many people encourage me, so many people step forward to work on my behalf in various ways … I was overwhelmed by the outpouring support, sentiment and encouragement,” he said. “The hardest part of the whole campaign is also the most rewarding part of the whole campaign, and that is going door-to-door. I got to meet people, hear their story and hear their cares and concerns. They shared a lot with me. They opened up and thanked me for coming by. We have a lot of good people and a lot of great stories.”
Jarrett said via telephone that he “had nothing to say at this time.”
Mickens complimented Mackay on a well-fought race.
“The second time around is better. It was a hard fight. My hat, my coat, my shoes … (are) off to Mrs. Mackay. She ran a strong race. She made me work for it and she pushed me. I know it’s tough for her right now, but it had to be me or her,” Mickens said. “This mayor and council can really come together and get the hidden agendas out of the way, that we can come together and be for the betterment of the city of Columbus. We don’t need to be running behind Tupelo and we don’t need to be running behind Birmingham. Columbus is a big city. I think with the mayor and council coming back now for four more years that we know each other better, and we’re going to work together.”
Mackay said she appreciated those who were behind her throughout her campaign and said this would be her final time to run for public office.
“I just want to thank everybody who supported me. We ran a good, clean race,” she said. “We ran a hard race and did everything we could.”
Nathan Gregory covers city and county government for The Dispatch.
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