Ward 6 Councilman to take reins of Jackson City Council as new president

Charlie Drape, Mississippi Clarion Ledger
·2 min read
Aaron Banks won a unanimous vote Monday to serve as the new president of the Jackson City Council.
Aaron Banks won a unanimous vote Monday to serve as the new president of the Jackson City Council.

Ward 6 Councilman Aaron Banks is set to serve as the new president of the Jackson City Council after winning the position in a unanimous vote at Monday morning's city council meeting.

"Let me take the opportunity to thank my colleagues for their confidence this year as president of the Jackson City Council. I look forward to serving and making sure there's not only accountability but decorum amongst this body and professionalism so that we can be that city that's shining on top of a hill," Banks said.

Banks was nominated by Ward 7 Councilwoman Virgi Lindsay. He will be in charge of leading council meetings and will serve for a year.

Ward 5 Councilman Vernon Hartley was nominated as president by Ward 1 Councilman Ashby Foote, but withdrew after Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes asked him if he would consider running for vice president of the council- to which Hartley agreed.

Hartley ended up losing his bid for vice president after Banks nominated Ward 2 Councilwoman Angelique Lee. Lee secured the position over Hartley in a 4-3 vote. It will be her second term as vice president.

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"I've had the opportunity to learn so much from each of you and I just thank you all for the opportunity," Lee said.

Each of the councilmembers also thanked Foote for his time serving as president of the council in 2022-2023.

"I'd like to a moment out to thank Councilman Foote for his past year as president. It has been an honor and enlightening to see him action. He is full of patience, wisdom, thinking things through and I've learned a lot more about leadership through his efforts," Hartley said.

In other council action, a source confirmed that council members have agreed to place the maintenance and repairing of the city's sewer system in the hands of JXN Water's third-party administrator Ted Henifin. Council members and Henifin met to discuss the issue at a special council meeting called on June 29, but the discussion was not held publicly after the council voted to go into a closed session due to legal confidentiality.

Henifin could not be reached for comment.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Aaron Banks named president of Jackson City Council in unanimous vote