Page 2 - Mayor Robert Smith News Today

Gavin embraces ambitious projects in mayor seat Vice Mayor Bill Gavin sits in at his makeshift office in City Hall on Friday. Gavin has been filling in for Mayor Robert Smith, who was briefly hospitalized in February and has been out of the office for seven weeks. “(S)ince I’ve been sitting in this position, I’ve taken on more and more responsibilities,” Gavin told The Dispatch last week. “I’ve made decisions, and I think I’ve done a pretty decent job of filling in for the mayor...

DiCicco defeats Gavin to claim Ward 6 council seat Ward 4 remains undecided; Stewart wins Democratic primary in Ward 1 Jacqueline DiCicco Starting July 1, Ward 6 will have a new representative on the Columbus City Council. Republican Jacqueline DiCicco unseated incumbent councilman and Vice Mayor Bill Gavin in a landslide, 301-114, in the Republican primary. With no other candidates in the race, DiCicco will be unchallenged in the general elect...

Our View: Is Ward 6 vote margin a referendum on direction of city? Tuesday’s primary elections in Columbus provided one piece of the puzzle. Will city government remain largely status quo? Or will the June 8 general elections introduce sweeping changes and a course correction for the city? With only two incumbents — Ward 2 councilman Joseph Mickens and Ward 5 councilman Stephen Jones — unopposed and assured of their seats, three other council positions, along with the mayor’s race, will...

Columbus ends mask-wearing mandate Columbus City Council lifted its citywide mask mandate at its regular meeting Tuesday night, though not without some tense back and forth between two council members. The council voted 4-1 to require face coverings only in city buildings. Ward 2 Councilman Joseph Mickens opposed. Joseph Mickens “I think we’re making a huge mistake here,” Mickens said before the vote. “I’ve got to totally disagree with you on this one. What I’m hearing, what the (Ce...

City looks to federal funding for $3.5M in infrastructure projects Pictured is a rendering for a proposed $1.15 million project to add sidewalks, crosswalks, islands and landscaping to Fifth Street North. City officials have passed on renderings to Rep. Trent Kelly’s office in hopes of this and three other projects receiving funding if Congress passes a $3 trillion package that includes $1 trillion for infrastructure improvements throughout the country. Vice Mayor Bill Gavin and City Engin...

Robert Smith, Sr. says he is under a doctors care.

Kylin Hill fought to change the Mississippi flag. Next up: The NFL. Michael Lee © Allison V. Smith/For The Washington Post Kylin Hill, a former Mississippi State running back, was instrumental in getting the Mississippi state flag changed. Hes now an NFL draft prospect. If Kylin Hill has a regret about last year, it’s that he wasn’t able to run into Davis Wade Stadium carrying Mississippi’s new state flag, waving it for all to behold. Hill was the one who put himse...

Group attacks city leaders with now-removed billboard December 20, 2020 GMT COLUMBUS, Miss. (AP) — A new political group is aiming harsh criticism at the leaders of a northeast Mississippi city, but city leaders say the criticism is rooted in a personal dispute that the group’s two heads have with the city. A Better Columbus, founded by Leslie Sorrell and her husband, Will Sanders, has been sharply critical of the mayor and city council of Columbus, attacking them on social media and on a b...