Municipal elections are far less predictable than presidential or state elections because there is no polling to provide clues as to how these races will turn out.

Even so, Tuesday’s primary elections did provide some surprises, based not on data, but conventional thinking

In Columbus, Ward 5 councilman Stephen Jones captured a six-point victory over county supervisor Leroy Brooks in the Democratic mayoral primary. Brooks had outraised Jones by a 3-to-1 margin and had won 11 consecutive terms on the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors.

Meanwhile, Joseph Mickens, the longest tenured council member, was the odd man out in the Ward 2 Democratic primary. Mickens, who also serves as vice mayor, was seeking his fifth term, but collected less than a quarter of the votes. Roderick Smith, the top vote-getter, will meet Laisha “Ms. She-She” O’Neal in the April 22 runoff. The winner will not face an opponent in the June 3 general election.

While there was a distinct feeling that Mickens was vulnerable, Brooks seemed like the betting favorite in the primary. What determined the outcome? Both Jones and Smith attribute their success to attracting the youth vote, although what constitutes youth in this race is difficult to define. In a primary where just 17.5% of the eligible voting age population went to the polls Tuesday, it’s hard to imagine that significant surge of young, first-time voters turned the tide. It may be better described as a shift away from the establishment, given that between them, Brooks and Mickens had served a combined 15 terms.

Starkville mayor

In Starkville’s mayor’s race, the biggest surprise was Lynn Spruill’s closer-than-expected Democratic primary race. The two-term mayor narrowly survived a run-off after securing a shade over 50% of the votes. The biggest challenge came from former Starkville fire chief, Charles Yarbrough, who trailed Spruill by only 169 votes, not counting affidavit votes.

Four years ago, Spruill ran unopposed. Now, she will face Republican Roger Bassett in the general election.

Starkville is currently enjoying a continuing economic boom, which has translated into more money for renewal projects and parks. As is often the case with sustained growth, there are growing pains, but generally there is a mood of optimism in the city.

That’s a pretty solid position for an incumbent to occupy.

One possible explanation for the close race, could be an erosion of support in the city’s Black community, which constitutes 35% of the population, in a race against Yarbrough, who is Black. Another is that Spruill has a somewhat cold and calculating way of viewing decision-making. She has at times taken positions that she believes her position is the right one, regardless of what others say. That approach can alienate citizens, even if she is right – and she often is.

Spruill may not be out of the woods yet as the general election approaches. A Republican’s odds are improved if there is a lack of enthusiasm among a Democrat’s coalition.

Columbus council

Even with five council seats still up for grabs in the general election, the next Columbus administration will have a decidedly different makeup than the current one. The only council incumbent assured of a seat on the six-person council is Ward 3’s Rusty Greene, who faced no opponent. There will be at least three new council members since Jones leaves his Ward 5 position and Ward 6 incumbent Jacqueline DiCicco chose not to run. The Ward 4 seat will be a three-candidate race that includes incumbent Pierre Beard, whose chances of reelection remain strong despite multiple run-ins with law enforcement.

Starkville aldermen

In Starkville, three incumbent aldermen had no opposition while two others, Ward 6’s Roy A. Perkins and Ward 7’s Henry Vaughn, breezed through their primary races and face no general election opponents. James Skinner defeated incumbent Jeffrey Rupp in Ward 3 and faces Democrat Laurel Lynn Rowse in the general election.

Altogether that means the next Starkville board will have just two new faces.

Then there is the matter of voter turnout, which was low even by primary standards. In Starkville, just 14% of the voting-age population went to the polls. That percentage was only slightly better in Columbus. But perhaps the most startling example of low turnout came in West Point’s Ward 2, where just 34 ballots were cast.

Single polling place?

In some instances, confusion over polling places may contribute to the poor turnout. One solution would be to have a single polling location, something employed for the first time on Tuesday by the city of Moss Point.

The move to a single polling place would eliminate confusion, streamline the process, require fewer poll workers, and, we strongly suspect, eliminate the disappearance of ballot boxes, which proved an embarrassment in Columbus this year when a ballot box was left in a car that was repossessed on the eve of the primary.

A large facility with plenty of parking — Fairview Baptist Church being one example – would be ideal for a single voting location. Readers will recall that the church was selected as the site of the county’s COVID-19 vaccination program, which accommodated thousands of people.

At this point, any option that helps turnout should be given fair consideration if our election results are to truly be representative.

An earlier version of this piece had multiple names wrong and incorrectly quoted Starkville mayor Lynn Spruill. Our intent in using quotation marks was to suggest her thoughts on an issue, but the way we chose to do that was confusing. We apologize for and regret the errors.

The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.

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