Pascagoula elects a new mayor. One incumbent defeated for city council.
In Pascagoula, all the 2021 municipal elections ended Tuesday night.
Jay Willis, running unopposed, will be the city’s next mayor. He is a retired dentist and consultant who has served on the Board of Directors for the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation.
Patrick Gatchell defeated incumbent Council member At Large Jennifer Colmer by a large margin, winning 70% of the vote.
Each of the city council candidates were either running unopposed, or were competing in a party primary with only two candidates, so the winner of each seat was determined Tuesday.
Here are the results, before absentee and affidavit ballots are added to the tallies.
Mayoral election
- Jay Willis, Republican: 2,023 (98.35%)
- Write-in votes: 34 (1.65%)
City Council races
No Democratic primary was held because the Democratic candidates in Ward 1 and Ward 2 were running unopposed.
Ward 1
- Michael L. Hyde (D)
Ward 2
- Felix “FeFe” Fornett (D)
Ward 3
- Ernie Denmark (R): 158 votes (34.73%)
- Johnny Walker (R): 291 voted (63.96%)
- Write-in votes: 6 (1.32%)
Ward 4
- Matt Parker (R): 344 votes (57.43%)
- Burton L. “Burt” Hill (R): 255 votes (42.57%)
- Write-in votes: 0
Ward 5
Chris Blythe (R): 511 votes (64.04%)
Christopher Langston (R): 287 votes (35.96%)
Write-in votes: 0
Councilman At Large
Jennifer Colmer (R): 636 votes (29.58%)
Patrick Gatchell (R): 1,508 votes (70.14%)
Write-in votes: 6 (0.28%)
