Erin Smith was declared the winner of the City of Oxford's Ward 1 Alderman election on Tuesday, June 3, 2025.
Oxford’s Ward 1 has a new alderman after Tuesday’s municipal election. Independent candidate Erin Smith was declared the winner minutes after the polls closed. Smith defeated challengers Drew Stevens (I) and Dr. Bill Mayo (R) to claim the seat left open after two-term alderman Rick Addy (D) declined to seek reelection.
Tuesday’s Municipal Election was the lowest voter turnout in many years, possibly ever. Oxford had a total of 14,371 registered voters eligible to vote in the election but only 987 votes were cast. This means only 6.87% of Oxford voters participated in the election.
The low turnout was largely due to the fact that only Ward 1 had a contested election. Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill (I) and all incumbents in Wards 2-6 easily won their uncontested reelections, although the number of people voting for these incumbents was very low. All incumbents won their wards by receiving an average of only 31 votes. The lowest turnout was Ward 6, where incumbent Jason Bailey (R) received 14 votes.
The turnout for Ward 1’s general election was very high. The three candidates vying for the open seat divided up 815 total votes cast in Ward 1. Erin Smith received 360 votes (44.17%), Drew Stevens received 296 votes (36.32%), and Dr. Bill Mayo received 156 votes (19.14%). The 815 votes cast on Tuesday in Ward 1 is significantly higher than 2021, when 654 votes were cast in the general election, but down from Ward 1’s 2021 primary election when 852 votes were cast.
Tuesday’s election was Erin Smith second time running for Ward 1 Alderman. She was forced to drop out of the race four years ago due to eligibility requirements. Smith is founding executive director of CASA of North Mississippi, a nonprofit launched in 2018 to advocate for abused and neglected children in our local court systems. She also served as Vice Chair of the Oxford-Lafayette Chamber of Commerce, and is the incoming Chairwoman-Elect. Erin will be sworn in as Ward 1 Alderman at the next Board of Aldermen meeting.
Official totals for Municipal Elections June 3, 2025, in Oxford, Mississippi, including absentee ballots and affidavit ballots:
Mayor
Robyn Tannehill 859
Write-in 53
Alderman At-Large
Mary Martha Crowe 848
Write-in 33
Ward I Alderman
Erin Smith 360
Drew Stevens 296
Bill Mayo 156
Write-in 3
Ward II Alderman
Mark Huelse 43
Write-in 1
Ward III Alderman
Brian Hyneman 37
Write-in 2
Ward IV Alderman
Kesha Howell Atkinson 31
Write-in 0
Ward V Alderman
Preston Taylor 30
Write-in 0
Ward VI Alderman
Jason Bailey 14
Write-in 1
Registered voters: 14,371
Ballots cast: 987
Voter turnout: 6.87%
Totals do not include any mailed absentee ballots which have five days from an election day postmark to arrive.
