Six city council candidates, mainly incumbents, raised more than $18,000 by Tuesday’s campaign finance reporting deadline for primary candidates.
Tuesday’s deadline was only for candidates who will be in a primary on Tuesday. Of those, reports were not available for Ward 2 candidates Joseph Mickens and Troy Miller; Ward 4 candidates Pierre D. Beard and Lavonne Latham-Harris; Ward 5 candidate Gary Jefferson; and Ward 6 candidate Whirllie Byrd, all of whom are Democrats.
Ward 3 candidate Charlotte Braxton Verdell also did not submit a report. However, Verdell will only face Republican incumbent Charlie Box in June’s general election.
Ward 1 incumbent Gene Taylor, who is running unopposed, submitted a finance report with $0 in contributions and expense. Ward 2 candidate Eric Thomas and Ward 6 candidate Andre D. Roberts also submitted reports with no income or expenses.
Ward 3
Ward 3 Councilman Charlie Box reported $2,945 in non-itemized contributions. Only donations of more than $200 are required to be itemized. Box’s report also includes $1,550.29 in expenses.
Box is seeking his third term in office. Verdell, his Democratic challenger, is a chemist at Southern Ionics Research and Development Center.
Ward 4
In Ward 4, incumbent councilman Marty Turner and challenger Fredrick Jackson have raised a combined $4,850, the second-highest total reported.
Of that, Jackson has raised $3,450, while Turner has raised $1,400. Jackson has also spent more, $3,417.39, compared to Turner’s $1,400.
The two candidates, along with Beard and Harris, will face off Tuesday in a Democratic primary that will determine who holds the Ward 4 seat on the council.
Turner is seeking his second term on the council, after first being elected in 2013. Jackson is an Allstate Insurance Agent. Harris is a cosmetologist. Beard is the director of music at Canaan M.B. Church.
Ward 5
So far, the most money has been raised in the Ward 5 race, where incumbent Stephen Jones and Republican challenger Mark Ward have taken in more than $9,100 — nearly half of the reported total raised for all council races so far.
Ward slightly out-raised Jones, with $4,743 in contributions. Of that, only a $200 donation from Marthalie Porter — who Jones defeated in a special election for the Ward 5 seat last year — is itemized.
Jones raised $4,446, $750 of which he contributed to his campaign. He’s outspent his opponent, with $3,707.22 in expenses compared to Ward’s $2,329.87.
Jones is a Realtor with RE/MAX, seeking his first full term after winning the seat last year in a special election after former councilman Kabir Karriem left to serve in the Mississippi House of Representatives. Ward is a former Columbus Fire and Rescue assistant fire chief.
Jefferson, a superintendent at JTB furniture, will meet Jones in Tuesday’s Democratic primary. The winner of that election will face Ward in June’s general election.
Ward 6
Ward 6 Councilman Bill Gavin reported $1,500 in contributions and $407.47 in expenses. Gavin is seeking his third term on the council.
He has two Democrat challengers — Byrd and Roberts. Byrd is retired but currently serves on the Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau board. Roberts is a security officer at Leigh Mall.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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