Gulfport has chosen a new Ward 5 councilmember in special election. Here are the results
Voters in Gulfport’s Ward 5 on Tuesday elected longtime city Planning Commission member BJ Sellers to represent them on City Council.
Sellers earned 419 votes to claim the race, according to unofficial results. Real estate broker and firm owner Holly Gibbs earned 214 votes and retired registered nurse Don Harden earned 41.
The special election followed the departure of Ward 5 Councilman Myles Sharp, who timed his resignation so that voters would choose his temporary replacement rather than having someone appointed. The ward includes a mix of neighborhoods and businesses, running almost the entire length of the city’s east side.
Sellers served for 18 years on Gulfport’s Planning Commission before giving up the seat in December to run for the City Council. Sellers, 60, has said he believes police officers and firefighters should receive a better benefits package, wants to improve infrastructure throughout the city and wants to make sure development is attractive, especially along Ward 5’s Cowan-Lorraine corridor, a gateway to the city.
Sellers will serve less than five months because regular municipal elections will be held in the spring for four-year terms that begin July 1.
All three candidates in the special election, along with resident Derek Bullock, have qualified to run in the Republican primary during the regular election.
Eighteen absentee ballots still need to be counted in Tuesday’s race. Ferrell Alman, chair of the Gulfport Municipal Election Commission, said the results will not be official until the deadline for absentee ballots next Tuesday at 5 p.m.
