Afton Thomas, associate director for programs at the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, entered the race for a seat on the Oxford Board of Aldermen last week. Running as a Democrat, Thomas will face Republican incumbent Mark Huelse to represent Ward II.
Thomas said she decided to run after being encouraged by members of the community to run based on her involvement with various nonprofit organizations in Lafayette County.
“I was asked, ‘Have you ever considered it?’ and I hadn’t considered it. I said, ‘You know, now you have me thinking about it,’” Thomas said.
She first began her involvement with Excel by Five, a nonprofit that aims to educate young children, when she moved to Oxford in 2012, and she currently serves as board president of Move On UP Mississippi, a nonprofit that funds educational initiatives in the state. She also serves on the board of Lafayette Oxford Foundation for Tomorrow and a steering committee with Leadership Lafayette.
Thomas said most nonprofit organizations in Oxford like the City Market, Doors of Hope and the Pantry all serve the same or similar groups of people. She wants the city to pay more attention to the needs of those groups and the services being provided to them and said her work with nonprofit organizations will help her bring a unique perspective to that effort.
“I’m scrappy, I’m creative and I don’t really think that we should just do a thing because we’ve always done it one way, so I offer a fresh perspective,” Thomas said.
Thomas is married to associate professor of sociology James Thomas, who has been a controversial figure in the university community for several years because of his social media posts. James Thomas is also currently suing state auditor Shad White for defamation after White began investigating him for violating Mississippi’s no-strike law.
Afton Thomas said that her marriage should not be a point of consideration in the election, and she noted no other candidates are receiving criticism based on their spouse.
“James — in my house is what he is known as — is not running for alderman,” Thomas said. “Afton is running for alderman, and I would ask those individuals (who criticize her if) we are talking about the spouses of anyone else. And if we are not, then this is a moot point.”
One issue that Thomas’s campaign will focus on is affordable housing.
“We’re talking about it,” Thomas said. “And I’m not going to say that (the Aldermen are) not talking about it. They’re talking about it, and they’re working on it, but there’s much more to be done in terms of affordable housing here in Oxford.”
Huelse, the incumbent, said the Aldermen are already considering affordable housing as an issue in Oxford.
“We’ve had two very successful affordable housing projects,” Huelse said. “We were the first city to pass our affordable housing incentives, and that’s been very successful, and I think it has been a great case study.”
Huelse also said the recent annexation of land within the city limits will provide more land for affordable housing. He thinks continued improvement of infrastructure is the most prominent issue to residents in Ward II and noted that the city has completed $72 million worth of improvements in the past four years, including road improvements and the construction of the parking garage on the Square.
“We’ve got a big project starting downtown to improve our sidewalks downtown and outdoor dining and manage our growth” Huelse said. “We’ve continued to grow, and (we want to) continue to get those new services to Oxford citizens. Continuing to do that while staying in our budget without raising taxes is going to be the challenge.”
Ward I Alderman Rick Addy and Ward III Alderman Janice Antonow will not seek reelection.
Lafayette County CASA executive director Erin Smith and former Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal CEO Billy Crews will run as Democrats in Ward I. Local realtor Harry Alexander will run as an independent.
Democrat Brian Hyneman and Republican L. McQueen Miscamble will compete in Ward III. Hyneman is chairman of the Oxford Planning Commission and Miscamble is the owner of Crossroads Animal Hospital.
Tracy L. Williams and John Boyd will face incumbent Ward V Alderman Preston Taylor in a Democratic primary. In Ward IV and Ward VI, incumbents Kesha Howell-Atkinson and Jason Bailey are running unopposed respectively.
Incumbent Mayor Robyn Tannehill is seeking reelection as an independent and will face 18-year-old challenger Brandon Pettis.
Primaries will take place on April 6, and general elections will be held on June 8.
