Diana L. Brown elected Albany Ward 6 Commissioner after close runoff
ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) – Every. Vote. Matters. That’s the message that Diana Brown is sending after winning the Albany Ward 6 Commission seat by just six points.
She will now be the first woman to occupy the seat in 30 years - following the untimely death of Demetrius Young.
“We can rebuild, and we can do it together,” said Brown. “Your voice does matter, your vote matters, never think your vote doesn’t matter.”
Brown is now the newest Albany City Commissioner after receiving six more votes than her opponent, Samuel Matthew Gaines. Brown saying that there is always work to be done and that she’s ready to meet the constituents where they are.
“I asked this question, why should I vote for you, and she said I’ll tell you. So, she came into our house, and she sat down and talked with us,” said residents Rosemary Igles & Apostle Rodney Igles.
“We heard their concerns, some of them weren’t good but we stood there and took the beating, my crew took the beating from the voters,” said Brown. “We took them to the polls, we heard their concerns, some of them weren’t good but we stood there and took the beating.”
“I had to tell them come on, get in the car now, I was not taking no for an option. Come on let’s go now and vote,” said Latanya Cobb.
In Tuesday’s runoff election, voter turnout numbers were less than the first election - with only 464 people voting compared to 488 on March 18.
“You’re in a big city with 8-thousand people and only about 500 people came out? The other folks must not want change,” Igles said.
A lot of voters say they didn’t know that their area was a part of Ward 6 and that could be a contributing factor to the low voter turnout. But that’s why it’s critical that you check a map to see if you are a part of the area that’s eligible for election.
“I understand a lot of people did not know what the race was for, the special election, but we got boots on the ground, we knocked on over 3,000 doors and our hard work definitely paid off,” said Campaign Manager Denita Boone-Motley.
“When you come back for a runoff, you will always have a lower turnout. Because voters don’t want to come back and participate because they feel like they already went out there.” Brown says.
Ward 6 residents saying it’s a team effort to bring change to their neighborhoods.
“We got to meet our situation, we got to be at these meetings that’s coming up for some changes, you can’t be like oh I told you so, you didn’t vote, so don’t say nothing, just hold your peace,” said Igles.
“Help us help you,” said Daysha Brown, Diana’s daughter.
Brown is now inviting opponent Samuel Gaines to join her team to work on the changes for Ward 6.
Previous Coverage:
- What’s the biggest issue in Ward 6? Candidates share platforms ahead of runoff election
- Ward 6 Special Election Day coming up
- Albany Ward 6 candidates debate for seat
- He died in the emergency room at Phoebe in Albany.
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