Monroe Mayor Jamie Mayo loses his reelection effort, ending a 19 year run in the office.
Mayo began his time in public office back in 1995 when he won City Council seat. He was named interim Mayor in 2001, leading to him winning a special election for the seat and maintaining it until this year. He says it’s a disappointing loss, but he’s grateful for the all the support he’s received over the years.
“We realize that there is an expiration in every single thing and nothing last forever, however I am very very appreciative to the supporters who we have had not just on Saturday night but over the years,” says Mayo.
The Democrat also had two unsuccessful bids for Congressional seats.
The Mayor says he’s proud of the progress the city made in his term. He pointed out over 2,000 businesses have been added since he was first elected, and the city’s books were set straight.
“We were not in good financial shape when I came in and now we are in the best financial shape in our city’s history. We are proud of that, proud of the upgrade of our bond rating to AA minus,” says Mayo.
Projections estimate the city has lost about three percent of its population in the last ten years.
Friday Ellis, an Independent, won 52 percent of the vote while Mayo received 38 percent in a 41 percent turnout election. We asked Mayo what he thought was behind the loss, he responded “It certain was not because of some of the things that we have done, but I think that after you have been somewhere for a long time all I heard was change, change, we need change, we need new ideas,” says Mayo.
Ellis is listed as white on the Secretary of State’s website. 63 percent of voters in the Mayor’s race were black.
Comments