The city of Flint clerk’s office has verified mayoral and city council candidates for the 2026 election, and a second incumbent who intended to run won’t appear on the ballot.
After it was reported last week that Judy Priestley, who represents the fourth ward, was disqualified, Jonathan Jarrett in the ninth ward will also not make the ballot for the August primary or November general election.
City council candidates were required to collect 75 signatures from registered voters in their ward by April 21 and must be a resident and registered voter in that ward to be eligible to run.
Several other candidates were also disqualified from the ballot since the unofficial list was released, so there will only be primary elections on August 4 for the first, second, and fifth wards as those are the only races that had more than two candidates qualify after signatures were verified. The top two vote getters in each of those races, as well as the mayoral election which had four candidates qualify, will then face each other in the general election on November 3. Council and mayoral elections in the city of Flint are nonpartisan.
Candidates who were disqualified have until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 28, to challenge that decision at the City Clerk’s office.
With Jarrett and Priestley disqualified, ward boundary shifts moving LaShawn Johnson from the third ward to the second ward, and Tonya Burns not seeking re-election in the sixth ward to run for mayor, the makeup of City Council could be dramatically different after November. The updated list of candidates who qualified in each ward and for mayor are listed below.
City of Flint Mayor
- Sheldon A. Neeley (incumbent)
- Tonya Burns
- Micaiah J. Owens
- Roshanda Womack
First Ward
- Debra J. Coleman
Dione M. Freeman**- Cynthia Haynes
Skeeter D. Holmes*- Arthur Woodson
* NOTE: Holmes was disqualified from the ballot, first reported by Kate Stockrahm of East Village Magazine
* NOTE: Freeman withdrew from the race according to reporting from Ron Fonger of MLive.
Leon El-Alamin, the incumbent in the first ward, is now running in the third ward due to ward map boundaries being redrawn last year.
Second Ward
- Maurice D. Davis
- Laquindra Hodge
- LaShawn Johnson
- Ladel Lewis (incumbent)
- Audrey Young
Lewis is the second ward incumbent. Johnson is the third ward incumbent, however she is now running in the third ward due to ward map boundaries being redrawn last year.
Third Ward
Beverly Biggs-Leavy*- Leon El-Alamin
Kiron Green**Paradise Williams***
* NOTE: Biggs-Leavy was disqualified from the ballot, first reported by Kate Stockrahm of East Village Magazine. Biggs-Leavy intends to run as a write-in candidate according to reporting by Mitchell Kukulka of Flint Beat.
** NOTE: Green was disqualified from the ballot.
*** NOTE: Williams was disqualified from the ballot.
Third ward incumbent LaShawn Johnson, who was appointed to a partial term last year after the death of former councilman Quincy Murphy, is now running in the second ward after new ward boundary maps were drawn last year. There will not be a third ward primary as only one candidate qualified for the ballot.
Fourth Ward
Judy Priestley (incumbent)*Kane Symons**Tracy Frazier***- Ramie Yelle
* NOTE: Priestley was disqualified from the ballot, first reported by Kate Stockrahm of East Village Magazine. Priestley told EVM and Flint Beat that she plans to run as a write-in candidate.
** NOTE: Symons posted on is social media that although he collected the required number of signatures, he was disqualified for not being a registered voter within his ward for more than a year. “I lived here for three years in this home in the fourth ward I understand the requirement of being a registered voter in your ward for at least one year,” he wrote.
* NOTE: Frazier was disqualified from the ballot.
Priestley has said in media reports that she plans to run as a write-in candidate. There will not be a fourth ward primary since only two candidates have a chance at being certified.
Fifth Ward
- Joel Arnold
- Wantwaz Davis
- Jeron Dotson
- DeWaun Robinson
Incumbent councilwoman Jerri Winfrey-Carter announced earlier this year she would not be running for re-election.
Sixth Ward
- Dakota Starr
Incumbent councilwoman Tonya Burns is not running for re-election because she is running for mayor. There will not be a sixth ward primary since only one candidate has a chance to be certified.
Seventh Ward
- Darell Brown
- Candice Mushatt (incumbent)
There will not be a seventh ward primary since no more than two candidates will be certified.
Eighth Ward
Monica Doss*- Ezekiel Harris
Brandan Jamison**- Casey Lester
* NOTE: Doss was disqualified from the ballot.
** NOTE: Jamison was disqualified from the ballot. According to Ron Fonger of MLive, Jamison did file a challenge with the clerk’s office.
Eighth ward incumbent Dennis Pfeiffer announced earlier this year he would not seek re-election. There will not be an eighth ward primary as only two candidates qualified for the ballot.
Ninth Ward
- Michael J. Harris
Jonathan Jarrett (incumbent)*
* NOTE: Jarrett was disqualified from the ballot.
Since no more than two candidates will be certified, there won’t be a primary election for the ninth ward.
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