CORRECTION: Any runoff would take place Tuesday, April 18
Three candidates have qualified for two open seats on the Jonesboro City Council, meaning that one person has won by default and two others will compete in the March 21 special election.
The municipal special election to fill former Mayor Joy Day’s seat is separate from the countywide special election that also takes place March 21. Because Councilwomen Pat Sebo-Hand and Dr. Donya Sartor are running for mayor, that means a special election for those two council seats is also required. Jonesboro’s council seats are at-large, not by district.
Alfred Dixon, Jr. and Arlene Charles are the contenders for Dr. Donya Sartor’s seat.
Don Dixon will fill Pat Sebo-Hand’s seat automatically as the only qualifying candidate in that race.
Dixon, a former Jonesboro city councilman and Mundy’s Mill graduate, is finishing his degree in political science at Clayton State (where he also is on the track and field team). He was backed by a group of supporters at City Center at qualifying Wednesday:
Charles, an active member of the Clayton County Georgia Republican Party, organized the Herschel Walker campaign stop at Crane Hardware and has served with Elections and Registration on ballot review panels:
Here’s a look at the Clayton County Federation of Democratic Women’s February 9 forum, which featured candidates from the Jonesboro mayor’s race as well as from the House District 75 race (click the double arrow in the bottom right to make the video fullscreen):
Who can vote in this election?
- Registered voters who live inside the city limits of the City of Jonesboro may vote in the municipal election for mayor and city council.
- If you live inside the city limits, you will need to cast a second ballot for the upcoming countywide special election for Clayton County Sheriff and on the Clayton County Schools SPLOST renewal.
- If you live in unincorporated Jonesboro, you only need to vote in the countywide special election for Clayton County Sheriff and on the Clayton County Schools SPLOST renewal.
- If you live in Georgia House District 75, which includes parts of inprporated and unincorporated Jonesboro, you will also vote on someone to fill the seat vacated by Rep. Mike Glanton. This map shows where House District 75 is (it’s the gray section that starts south of I-75, running east of Taylor Road, south of Flint River Road, east of Fayetteville, and ending in parts of Lovejoy). Use the plus symbol on the black bar above the map to zoom in and drag the map to find your street:
You also can check your Georgia House district number, as well as your municipal and county polling places, on your voter registration card at https://mvp.sos.ga.gov .
Election dates
Here are important dates for this election, as well as for the county election:
- February 21: Last day to register to vote
- February 27-March 17: Early voting
- March 10: Last day to request absentee ballot in county race
- March 21: Election day
- April 18: Special election runoff (if needed)
The Clayton Crescent will provide candidate profiles for each qualified candidate in every election, in addition to ongoing election coverage. You can search our site for past stories about candidates, as well.
For questions about voting in the city election, call Jonesboro City Hall at (770) 478-3800.
For questions about voting in the county election, or about voter registration, call the Clayton County Elections and Registration Office at (770) 477-3372.
