Both candidates for the Ward 2 city council seat are making their last-minute pushes for voter support ahead of Tuesday’s runoff.
Democrats Roderick Smith and Laisha “Ms. She-She” O’Neal are vying for the seat. With no Republican or independent running in that ward, Tuesday’s winner will take office July 1.
Smith’s 251 votes (46.3%) led the three-candidate field in the April 1 primary but fell short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff.
O’Neal placed second with 156 votes (28.8%), eliminating four-term incumbent Joseph Mickens, who received 135 votes (24.9%).
“The momentum has been strong, and we’re staying focused on the core issues that matter to our residents, as far as the drainage issue, public safety, youth engagement and economic development,” Smith wrote Friday in a text message to The Dispatch. “To address the challenge of low voter turnout in runoff elections, we’ve been doubling down on community outreach. That means knocking on doors, making calls and engaging with voters through social media and neighborhood events.”
O’Neal, noting a lack of buzz about the runoff, wrote “things are quiet” in a text to The Dispatch. Like Smith, she said she is using social media and canvassing neighborhoods to get her supporters back to the polls.
“I’m definitely not cheating and lying with absentee ballots to win a seat at the table,” O’Neal wrote. “I’m allowing the constituents to vote for Ward 2 councilperson. God bless whomever wins.”
During the primary campaign, O’Neal frequently posted on social media about alleged absentee ballot harvesting, most of them directly accusing Mickens of the practice. Of the 69 absentee ballots cast in the Ward 2 primary, 41 went for Smith, 18 went for Mickens and O’Neal got five. Absentees did not affect the order the candidates finished or the need for a runoff.
The absentee voting deadline for the runoff is noon today. As of Friday afternoon, the registrar’s office reported only 23 absentee ballots had been cast.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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