DECATUR, Ala. (WHNT) — Decatur Mayor-Elect Kent Lawrence spent the day on Wednesday saying thank you to his supporters.
The retired businessman will be the next Decatur mayor after winning Tuesday’s municipal election without a runoff.
Lawrence defeated longtime City Council Member Billy Jackson, former City Councilman Butch Matthews and citizen Suzie Wylie with 54% of the vote.
Lawrence said that he felt he had a lead going into the election before the race was decided.
“I’ve been managing people and leading people all of my life. It’s just a different business, but it’s still all about people,” said Lawrence.
When asked if there was a specific issue that might have made a difference in his victory, Lawrence said that it’s the people he surrounded himself with who know how city hall works.
“I know most of these guys and gals already and I think that the city has a lot of good people that want to do a good job,” Lawrence said. “We just all need to work in the same direction.”
Jackson, whose 29 years as the city councilman for district one were the longest in the city’s history, received 42.78% of the vote, said in a statement:
“I’ve been on the City Council for 29 years, longer than anyone else, and, to say that I am not satisfied or had my fill would not be a correct statement.”
The remaining provisional ballots will be counted at a called city council meeting at noon on Tuesday, September 2.
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