Jackson City Councilman Ashby Foote will return to his Ward 1 post after winning his reelection bid by the thinnest of margins.
On Wednesday, voters in the northeast Jackson ward were informed who will represent them on the seven-member council following a photo finish to a race that was a near-dead heat. Foote earned his third term in office after receiving just eight more votes than the runner-up.
Foote, who ran as an independent this year to allow his Republican supporters to weigh in on the capital city’s mayoral election in the primaries, was challenged by independent Grace Greene and Democrat Jasmine Barnes.
While voters cast their ballots at precincts in Ward 1 over a week ago, the race was a hotly contested one between the three candidates, and a winner could not be determined on election night. Last Tuesday, after all votes cast at precincts and in-person absentee ballots were counted, Foote held a 10-vote lead over Greene, and Greene held just a 15-vote advantage over Barnes.
With margins so thin, a winner could not be declared until all affidavits and mail-in ballots were counted. This delayed the process by a week, given that June 9 was the last day for mail-in ballots to be received. However, for these ballots to be counted, they had to be postmarked by June 3.
But now, the incumbent is slated to return to City Hall for another four-year stint. Foote’s top agenda going into his third term is to enhance public safety and tackle the issue of blighted properties in the capital city.
“The blight undermines everything,” Foote said. “It undermines confidence in the citizens. It makes the job of law enforcement much more difficult. It makes the job of the fire department much more difficult. It undermines the ability to attract investment into the city.”
Foote’s colleagues on the city council include Democrats Tina Clay (Ward 2), Kenneth Stokes (Ward 3), Brian Grizzell (Ward 4), Vernon Hartley (Ward 5), Lashia Brown-Thomas (Ward 6), and Kevin Parkinson (Ward 7). The city’s legislative body will work alongside newly-elected mayor John Horhn.
