Bill Strauss thinks the city is headed in the wrong direction.
Property taxes are too high, he believes. City government, he said, isn’t transparent to the citizens.
What really gets him going are what he calls “maintenance issues” – signs, sidewalks and parking lots in disrepair “all over the city.”
“If you don’t take care of the little issues, then why are you going to take care of the big issues?” Strauss told The Dispatch on Friday. “… Everywhere you look, it looks like nobody cares about this city. That’s one of the first things I’m going to (change).”
Strauss, 66, became the third candidate to qualify for the mayor’s race. He is running as an independent.
He joins Lowndes County District 5 Supervisor Leroy Brooks and Ward 5 Columbus Councilman Stephen Jones, both Democrats, who qualified earlier this month.
A Nashville native, Strauss moved to Columbus in 1981 and ran several retail businesses, including Ruth’s and Jean Ann’s department stores and Fashion Barn. More recently, he developed apartments in the old Ruth’s building downtown, which houses Cafe on Main and Justin’s Watch and Jewelry on the first floor. He also is a Realtor with West Realty Company.
The qualifying period runs through 5 p.m. Jan. 31. Party primaries are April 1, with the general election set for June 3.
Ward 1
Incumbent Ethel Stewart is seeking a second full term on the council, filing her qualifying paperwork Wednesday.
She joins challenger and Democrat Tommie Smith in the race.
Stewart, 75, is a retired nurse who moved back to Columbus in 2018. She won her council seat a year later in a special election, replacing her brother Gene Taylor who had died unexpectedly, and cruised to reelection in 2021.
She ran as a Democrat four years ago, but her qualifying paperwork for this race does not list a party affiliation.
Stewart did not return calls or messages from The Dispatch by press time.
Ward 4
Robert S. Johnson IV this week became the second candidate, and first Republican, to qualify for the Ward 4 council seat.
He joins longtime NAACP chapter president Lavonne Harris, a Democrat.
Johnson, 43, is a Columbus native and U.S. Navy veteran who moved back to the city from California in 2020. He said he is a freelance landscaper and home renovator and owns the property on Military Road that houses Schoolhouse Pops, where his wife and children sell lemonade and popsicles.
Rehabbing dilapidated property is a passion for Johnson, who said he learned construction skills while serving with the Navy’s Seabees.
He also wants to see the police department better resourced to curb crime.
Johnson said, if elected, he would push to get basketball goals at Propst Park, because the sport has a lower barrier for entry than baseball, softball, tennis or pickleball.
“I’d like to focus on some of the sports that all you need is a ball to play,” he said.
He also wants to bring “Fireworks Over the Lux” to Propst Park as an alternative, even a replacement, to the Fireworks on the Water Independence Day celebration at Stennis Lock and Dam.
“That would be really cool to see,” he said. “The parking is much better at Propst Park. As far as logistics, Propst Park is a much better pull-up to watch fireworks than the Tombigbee (River). … That would be my crowning achievement.”
Incumbent Pierre Beard has not yet qualified, though he has said publicly he plans to seek another term.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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