Oxford's Ward 1 Elects New Alderman in Tuesday's Municipal Election
Oxford’s Ward 1 has a new alderman after Tuesday’s municipal election. Independent candidate Erin Smith was declared the winner minutes after the polls closed. Smith defeated challengers Drew Stevens (I) and Dr. Bill Mayo (R) to claim the seat left open after two-term alderman Rick Addy (D) declined to seek reelection.
Tuesday’s Municipal Election was the lowest voter turnout in many years, possibly ever. Oxford had a total of 14,371 registered voters eligible to vote in the election but only 987 votes were cast. This means only 6.87% of Oxford voters participated in the election.
The low turnout was largely due to the fact that only Ward 1 had a contested election. Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill (I) and all incumbents in Wards 2-6 easily won their uncontested reelections, although the number of people voting for these incumbents was very low. All incumbents won their wards by receiving an average of only 31 votes. The lowest turnout was Ward 6, where incumbent Jason Bailey (R) received 14 votes.
The turnout for Ward 1’s general election was very high. The three candidates vying for the open seat divided up 815 total votes cast in Ward 1. Erin Smith received 360 votes (44.17%), Drew Stevens received 296 votes (36.32%), and Dr. Bill Mayo received 156 votes (19.14%). The 815 votes cast on Tuesday in Ward 1 is significantly higher than 2021, when 654 votes were cast in the general election, but down from Ward 1’s 2021 primary election when 852 votes were cast.
https://www.thelocalvoice.net/oxford/oxfords-ward-1-elects-new-alderman-in-tuesdays-municipal-election/