As newly inaugurated Jackson Mayor John Horhn continues to outline his first-term agenda, he now has a better look at who in city leadership he will be working with to bring his priorities to fruition. In Horhn’s first city council meeting as mayor, council members elected Brian Grizzell to be the governing body’s president and Vernon Hartley as vice president.
In Jackson, the city council functions as the municipality’s legislature and has voting power to enact local laws, decide whether or not to move forward with proposed contracts, oversee mayoral appointments, and most importantly, approve a budget.
Grizzell, a Democrat who represents Ward 4, cruised to a second term after running unopposed in the general election. He was promoted after being the council’s most recent second-in-command and following former council president Virgi Lindsay’s retirement from city government. Hartley, also a Democrat, was elected to a second term in the general election but will now get his first chance as vice president. Both campaigned on improving public safety in the capital city and investing in infrastructure repairs.
In Jackson, the council president and vice president serve a one-year term but can have their stints extended. One of the crucial tasks ahead of Grizzell and Hartley will be to work with Horhn as he looks to move Jackson in a different direction than his predecessor, embattled ex-mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, had for the past eight years.
Serving alongside Grizzell and Hartley on the council are Ashby Foote (Ward 1), Tina Clay (Ward 2), Kenneth Stokes (Ward 3), Lashia Brown-Thomas (Ward 6), and Kevin Parkinson (Ward 7).
