By Kate Stockrahm
Five candidates are now certified for this year’s 7th and 9th Ward Flint City Council elections.
Flint City Clerk Davina Donahue confirmed today that two candidates will be vying for the 7th Ward seat, and three candidates are in the race for the 9th Ward seat.
For the 7th Ward, the two certified candidates are current Councilwoman Candice Mushatt and Jan Marie Arbor. Mushatt has been serving in the role by council appointment since former Flint City Council President Allie Herkenroder resigned in summer 2023.
For the 9th Ward, the candidates are Page Brousseau, Kathryn A. Irwin, and Jonathan Jarrett.
According to the Flint City Charter, all candidates are required to be a registered elector of the city for one year prior to the filing deadline for the office, a resident of the ward for which they serve, and must continue that residency until the end of their term.
Donahue clarified that the city is using the ward boundaries as stood when the 7th and 9th Ward seats were last elected in 2021, which have since shifted.
Absent from the 9th Ward ballot is incumbent Councilwoman Eva Worthing.
Worthing announced in December 2023 that she would not run in the recall election called against her, and reaffirmed that decision on a Jan. 24, 2024 call with EVM.
“I have huge relief,” she said of her decision not to run in the May 7 recall election for her seat. “Good luck to whoever takes my place.”
While Donahue’s office originally noted there would be a primary election for the 7th Ward in May 2024 as well, the number of certified candidates running changes that.
“Because there’s only two candidates for the 7th Ward, we won’t have a primary in May,” she explained.
Instead, she said, the vote between the two candidates will take place during the Tuesday, Aug. 6 general election this summer.
Kate Stockrahm, EVM‘s new editor, can be reached at eastvillagemagazineflint@gmail.com.
