Jackson voters bring back familiar faces — and welcome a new one — to City Council
Unofficial results for Jackson's Tuesday, June 3, municipal election are in, with familiar faces returning to the Jackson City Council in three wards and a new face joining them, and one ward still up for grabs.
Let's start with the familiar faces.
Guess who's back? Longtime Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes, a political powerhouse who has served on the council for more than three decades, won a decisive reelection victory. Stokes dominated independent challenger Marques T. Jackson, who received only 20.93% of the vote, or 665 votes. Stokes nearly tripled that total, receiving 77.15% of the vote, or 2,451 votes, according to the unofficial votes.
In Ward 2, the newest member of the council, incumbent Councilwoman Tina Clay, retained her seat and will serve her first full-term in office. She was previously elected in October 2024 in a special election after former Councilwoman Angelique Lee resigned and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery in connection with Jackson's bribery scandal.
Clay, a longtime insurance professional, crushed her Republican challenger Bethany Williams-Sherif in the Ward 2 race. Clay earned 91.32%, or 4,082 votes. Williams-Sherif only earned 6.13% of the vote, or 274 votes, according to the unofficial results.
And in Ward 5, incumbent Councilman Vernon Hartley was reelected to a second term after defeating independent challenger Raymond McCants III. Hartley received 71.22%, or 1,619 votes, compared to McCants 27.28%, or 620 votes.
"I humbly thank all the people of Ward 5. Now WE get to work as a united ward 5 and united Capital City," Hartley posted to his Facebook account after the unofficial results came in.
Hartley is a retired U.S. Air Force reservist with a 30-year military career, who also held positions with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and served as Jackson's Solid Waste Manager.
Democrat Kevin Parkinson outlasted independent Ron Aldridge in the race for the Ward 7 seat, according to the unofficial election results.
Parkinson received 1,697 votes, compared to Aldridge's 1,165 votes. Republican Taylor Turcotte only took home 129 votes.
Parkinson, a longtime educator, will replace Ward 7 Councilwoman and Council President Virgi Lindsay, who announced in January she was not seeking reelection.
Mississippi law requires that municipal election results be certified within 10 days, so results are all unofficial until then. Jackson election commissioners are still counting affidavit ballots on Wednesday, June 4 and mail-in ballots still have five days to be received from Election Day.
Ward 1 remains too close to call with only 25 votes separating incumbent Ashby Foote and two challengers — Grace Green and Jasmine Barnes. All had around 33% of the vote with affidavit and mail-in votes to be counted.
Incumbent Ward 4 Councilman Brian Grizzell retained his seat after the Democratic April 1 primary, defeating challenger Malcolm May.
Grizzell is running unopposed in the general election, therefore winning the seat. It will be his second term on the council.
Democrat Lashia Brown-Thomas won the April 22 primary runoff election, defeating Emon Thompson. Brown-Thomas will be the Ward 6 representative on the Jackson City Council as she is running unopposed in the general election. She replaces current Ward 6 Councilman Aaron Banks, who decided not to run for reelection.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Who won seats on Jackson MS City Council in 2025 election?
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It was the third and most intense day of demonstrations against Trump's immigration crackdown in the region, as the arrival of around 300 Guard troops spurred anger and fear among many residents. The Guard was deployed specifically to protect federal buildings, including the downtown detention center where protesters concentrated. Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said officers were 'overwhelmed' by the remaining protesters. He said they included regular agitators who show up at demonstrations to cause trouble. Starting in the morning, the troops stood shoulder to shoulder, carrying long guns and riot shields as protesters shouted 'shame' and 'go home.' After some closely approached the guard members, another set of uniformed officers advanced on the group, shooting smoke-filled canisters into the street. Minutes later, the Los Angeles Police Department fired rounds of crowd-control munitions to disperse the protesters, who they said were assembled unlawfully. 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The deployment appeared to be the first time in decades that a state's national guard was activated without a request from its governor, a significant escalation against those who have sought to hinder the administration's mass deportation efforts. Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass blamed the increasingly aggressive protests on Trump's decision to deploy the Guard, calling it a move designed to enflame tensions. They've both urged protesters to remain peaceful. 'What we're seeing in Los Angeles is chaos that is provoked by the administration,' she said in an afternoon press conference. 'This is about another agenda, this isn't about public safety.' But McDonnell, the LAPD chief, said the protests were following a similar pattern for episodes of civil unrest, with things ramping up in the second and third days. 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Trump told reporters as he prepared to board Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey, Sunday that there were 'violent people' in Los Angeles 'and they're not gonna get away with it.' Asked if he planned to send U.S. troops to Los Angeles , Trump replied: 'We're gonna have troops everywhere. We're not going to let this happen to our country.' He didn't elaborate. About 500 Marines stationed at Twentynine Palms, about 125 miles (200 kilometers) east of Los Angeles were in a 'prepared to deploy status' Sunday afternoon, according to the U.S. Northern Command. ___ Offenhartz reported from New York. Associated Press writer Michelle Price contributed to this report from Bridgewater, New Jersey. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . 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