JONESBORO -- Incumbent Mayor Harold Perrin defeated five challengers and avoided a runoff election to capture his third term as Jonesboro's leader.
Former state Rep. Harold Copenhaver, who originally didn't plan to run for mayor until 2020, was in second place but did not receive enough votes to force the runoff.
Complete but unofficial results are:
Perrin 11,465
Copenhaver 5,673
John Street 3,135
Nathan Coleman 1,830
Amanda Dunavant 839
Thomas Elwood 465
Perrin, 69, has served as Jonesboro's mayor for eight years and was an alderman for 15 years.
Although Perrin did not receive 50 percent of the total vote, he outpolled Copenhaver by at least 20 percent, earning him the outright victory, he said.
"We got it," Perrin said Tuesday evening. "I'm going back to work tomorrow morning."
He said he felt voters favored his job as the city's leader.
"We kept the same message," he said of the campaign. "We told them what we had done in the last eight years, and what we'll do in the next four. I never deviated from that, and I think people picked up on that."
The five candidates running against the incumbent Jonesboro mayor were the most in years, and those seeking the office cited various issues that emerged during Perrin's administration.
Copenhaver, 55, said he planned on running for mayor in 2020 but realized Jonesboro needed new leadership after the Craighead County town became divided over a property maintenance code that aldermen tried to impose earlier this year.
"I'm disappointed," he said of the vote's outcome. "I think the number of candidates diluted the race and made it difficult to beat an incumbent.
"I will continue to support this city as it prospers."
Council members passed an ordinance initiating the code that required strict upkeep of properties, but residents placed the issue on a ballot last summer after gathering petitions opposing the move.
The code was heavily defeated in a special election.
Street, a City Council member for 14 years, said he opposed the property maintenance code and urged fellow aldermen to place the issue on the ballot before enacting an ordinance.
Other candidates said a lack of raises for police and firefighters and issues with poor drainage in the city were motivations to run.
State Desk on 11/09/2016