Election Day was on Tuesday, and we now have some idea of what our county’s elected leadership will look like when the victors are sworn in on September 1st. While the general election is not until August, historical trends can tell us who is likely to emerge from the field.
Shelby County Mayor:
Current Shelby County Commissioner Mickell Lowery took in more than 32% of the vote, defeating current City Councilman JB Smiley and former Superintendent Marie Feagins to be the Democratic nominee for mayor and setting up a general election showdown against Republican nominee and former State Rep. John DeBerry. Given recent election trends, Lowery is expected to be the next mayor of Shelby County.
Shelby County Commission:
Like the current configuration, we will likely have another majority female Shelby County Commission in September.
Of the four traditionally Republican-leaning commission districts, two will have general election matchups. In District 1, Republican Rhonda O’Dell will meet Democrat Sade Nicole Bradley in August. District 2’s Republican nominee, Derek Mills, will have no opponent in the General Election. In District 3, Republican Michele Dial will face Democrat Ryan Ramkhelawan. And in District 4, Mark Billingsley will win his seat without contest. All four of these seats will be represented by new faces (though Billingsley has served on the commission before), as the four current commissioners are term-limited.
Elsewhere, incumbents Shante Avant, Charlie Caswell, Henri Brooks, Miska Clay Bibbs, and Erika Sugarmon won their primaries in Districts 5, 6, 7, 11, and 12, respectively. Brooks will face Republican Gerald Green in the general election, while the others have no established Republican opponent. Sugarmon will come up against an Independent candidate, Andrea Bell, in the General Election.
As for the open seats in Districts 8, 9, 10, and 13, Will Richardson, Karen Streeter, Lashanta Rudd, and Amber Huett-Garcia came out on top in their respective Democratic primaries. Richardson will face Republican EJ Murphy in the General Election, while Huett-Garcia will face Republican Ed Apple. Streeter and Rudd are unopposed in the General Election.
MSCS Board:
Of the four seats on the ballot this year, two featured incumbents, while the other two had open races. In Districts 1 and 9, incumbents Michelle McKissack and Joyce Dorse Coleman came out on top of the first partisan primary in the local school board’s elections. Districts 6 and 8 will have fresh representation in T.L. Harris and Tanya Frey, who will replace Keith Williams (retiring) and Amber Huett-Garcia (seeking a County Commission seat). All four candidates face no Republicans in the General Election.
Elsewhere:
There were several other races on the ballot this week that will affect the daily lives of Shelby Countians, including several clerkships. For full results, see the official tallies here.
