D’Andre Jones / Courtesy photo
D’Andre Jones defeated Tanner Pettigrew in the Ward 1 runoff election Tuesday night to replace outgoing Council Member Sarah Marsh on the Fayetteville City Council.
Jones, 46, is a local social worker and longtime community advocate who has served as president of the Northwest Arkansas Democratic Black Caucus, chair of the Civil Rights Commission, chair of Mayor Lioneld Jordan’s African American Advisory Council, and secretary of Civil Service Commission.
Final unofficial results showed Jones received 1,040 votes (72%) and Pettigrew received 408 votes (28%).
Jones and Pettigrew were part of a four-person race for the Ward 1, Position 2 seat in the Nov. 3 general election. A runoff was set after the two emerged as the top contenders with Jones taking 3,108 votes (38%) and Pettigrew receiving 2,413 votes (30%), followed by Pedro Fimbres (20%) and Oroo Oyioka (12%).
In Arkansas, if a single candidate does not win a majority of the votes, the two people with the most votes head to a runoff election unless the leading candidate receives more than 40% of the votes and is ahead of the runner-up by 20%.
Ward 1 encompasses south and southeast Fayetteville, including the areas south of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Huntsville Road. Mount Sequoyah, Happy Hollow Elementary, and Ramay Junior High School are also included in Ward 1.
Jones will be one of two new members to be sworn in early next year when the upcoming term begins. Another new member will be Holly Hertzberg, who defeated incumbent Kyle Smith and two others in the Ward 4 race. Matthew Petty won a fourth term in Ward 2, and Sarah Bunch won a second term in Ward 3.
Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan will also serve a fourth consecutive term after defeating Tom Terminella, William Harrison and Ron Baucom.
