A former educator and coach, Burney Jenkins sees himself as a consensus builder.
That message resonated with Georgetown voters Tuesday as Jenkins defeated long-time city council member David Lusby for mayor with 58.77 percent of the vote. The historic election also made Jenkins’ the city’s first Black mayor.
“I feel absolutely humbled,” Jenkins said following the election. “God is good, and sometimes God puts you in the place where you can do the most good. I’m excited, but I plan to take this one step at a time.”
Transparency in government is a top priority, said the mayor-elect.
“I want to let the citizens of Georgetown know what we are doing as a city,” he said. “I plan to run my administration like I ran my campaign by actually going out and talking with people. The more you inform people and explain what you are doing and why, I believe they will better support you.”
Jenkins was involved in education for 46 years as a teacher, coach, dean of students, and administrator, as well as sports official.
“I’ve raised a lot of children,” he said, laughing.
Jenkins has no experience in government at any level, but he said he is not intimidated.
“An advantage is having experienced people (in city government leadership roles) who have been there and who can help you,” Jenkins said. “The first day I was a teacher, there were people with experience who helped me. The first day I officiated, there were people who helped me. All along the way, there were people who helped me learn until I figured it out.
“Sure, I’m going to learn some new things, but I want make the best decisions for the citizens of Georgetown. To do that I’m going to rely upon a lot of people to have a part.”
Along with Jenkins as Georgetown’s first Black mayor, the city council will have two Black members — something that has not happened in more than a decade — with the election of Sonja Wilkins Brent and Alonzo Allen. While Jenkins said he was humbled to be elected the city’s first Black mayor, he said that would not be a focus of his administration.
“We still represent everybody,” Jenkins said. “There is some diversity, and that is good, but we’re not going to focus on any one group. We’re going to do what is best for the city as a whole. We’re going to be transparent.”
Harold Dean Jessie, a key organizer for Jenkins’ campaign, was excited about the prospects for a Jenkins’ administration.
“Burney is not a top-down manager, he is a bottom-up manager who seeks input from a lot of people and wants to serve the people. After all, the most important thing is to serve the people,” said Jessie who is designated to have a leadership role for the mayor-elect’s transition team. “You’re going to see a very different administration with decisions made with a broader range of people involved.
“Burney is a consensus maker. He is non-partisan and has excellent skills in bringing people together. This was a significant win, and it is because of the impact from a lot of people. For city department heads and supervisors, Burney is going to lean heavily on their expertise. You are going to see a more engaged city council with more impact than ever before.”
The city council that Jenkins will work with will have three new faces. Todd Stone led all council candidates with 4,359 votes followed by Willow Hambrick, 4,153, Mark Showalter, 3,985, Sonja Wilkins Brent, 3,928, Alonzo Allen, 3,757, Millie Butcher Conway, 3,656, Connie Tackett, 3,527 and Greg Hampton, 3,448.
Conway is a former member of the city council while Brent and Allen are newcomers.
“I’m shocked that the people of Georgetown put that much trust in me,” said Stone, who is completing his fourth year on the council. “I just try and do my best and do what’s right for the city employees and the citizens of Georgetown.
“It’s a great honor to be able to do this for years as a police officer, and deputy sheriff before that, to be able to help serve the community. And then after I retired, to be able to come back and do this and still be able to help and serve the community of Georgetown—it’s a tremendous honor.”
The remaining council candidates are: Nathaniel Price, 3,334, Tammy Lusby Mitchell, 3,258, Mark Cook, 2,497, Angela Stangle, 2,095, Dean Strong, 2,078, Stephen Price, 2,076, Jeremy Emerson, 1,911 and Danny Hillard, 1,589.
The top eight candidates are elected to the council.
James Scogin contributed to this article.
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