Vernon Greenlee and Stephen Poole will meet in a runoff election on Sept. 14 to determine the winner in the Ward 3 Greenville City Council race.
Greenlee had the most votes with 284 to Poole’s 217. There were eight total candidates in the race.
Mark Crawford had 59 votes, Kendrick Gear had 81 votes, Frank Hall Jr. had 70 votes, Johnny Ross had 50 votes, Hope Williams-Brown had 45 votes and Rosetta Williams had 88 votes.
Rules regarding special elections actually allow for more than one runoff should there not be a clear majority in the first, but, as there will only be two candidates in the coming runoff, there will be no need for a second runoff.
Vernon Greenlee is a lifelong resident of Washington County. After obtaining a BS degree in Agricultural Economics from MSU, he returned to the Delta. He has sold farm equipment, managed farms, served as president of Bostick Bothers and Cotton Belt Liquid Gas until it sold in 2010, and now, is the Regional President of Southern Bancorp Bank. He has served on numerous committees and boards. He has been married to Sandra Gamberini for 34 years and has two children, Miller, 29, and Walker, who is in heaven, would be 24. The family attends First Baptist Church in Greenville.
“The community turn out exceeded our expectations. Thank you to the 894 voters that cast their ballot on Monday. I look forward to meeting and gaining support from more of you in Ward 3 before the runoff election on September 14. Please call me at 662-336-5668 with your questions and concerns. I am honored to have the possibility of representing the citizen of Ward 3 on the City Council,” Greenlee said.
Stephen Poole was born and raised in Greenville. He and his wife, Emily Whetstone Poole, owner of Emily Poole Architecture, have four children, Dallas, Ruby Love, Anna Marsalis and Billie Hope. For 25 years, he has worked on or supervised numerous construction projects involving roads, storm and sanitary sewers, asphalt, and concrete. Projects have included multi-million-dollar developments. He currently serves as the superintendent of maintenance for the Mississippi Levee Board, charged with the maintenance of 212 miles of Mississippi and Yazoo River Levees and has knowledge of flood control issues in the levee district’s six counties.
“The voter turnout was great and I want to thank everyone that supported me,” Poole said. “I believe with my background in infrastructure, construction management and flood prevention I am the best candidate going forward. I have a lot of good people behind me and we are looking forward to the runoff.”
The Sept. 14 runoff is set to run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14. Voting will take place at Covenant Presbyterian Church, 1865 Main St.
