Tuesday’s municipal election was supposed to be a time for change in Decatur. It sort of was.
Kent Lawrence, a soft-spoken businessman with very little political experience, was picked by voters as the city’s next mayor on Tuesday night. He beat out longtime Decatur City Councilman Billy Jackson, 54 percent to 43 percent.
“It’s very exciting, very humbling,” Lawrence told reporters shortly after declaring victory. “It will be my job to sit down with everyone and actually listen. I want to bring people together–that’s what the city needs.”
The division within the city has been well documented over the last two years, following the Sept. 2023 alleged murder of Steve Perkins by Decatur Police officer Mac Bailey Marquette. Perkins was essentially ambushed by police in his front yard during an early morning repossession attempt. Neighbors’ security camera footage released on social media in the wake to the shooting, and a bogus police explanation, sparked city-wide outrage.
Protests have continued virtually unstopped since, and the city has undertaken a number of measures to address the rift exposed by the shooting. That has included the former police chief stepping down and outgoing Mayor Tab Bowling deciding not to run again, as each faced crushing public pressure and criticism.
With that backdrop, many naturally assumed the 2025 city elections would also reflect the changes in the city. Jackson, vying to be Decatur’s first Black mayor, was considered a favorite. Perkins’ brother, Nicholas Perkins, decided to run for Jackson’s long-held city council seat. Two other prominent civil rights activists were on the ballot as well.
The big prize, of course, was mayor. But it wasn’t to be.
Instead, the city’s powerbrokers lined up behind Lawrence. An unassuming and benign candidate, what Lawrence lacked in charisma he made up for in reliability. A former business owner who had served on the city’s planning commission for several years, Lawrence was familiar, safe and uninterested in shaking up the city.
Money poured in. One of the state’s best political consulting firms was hired. Lawrence won.
But that sentiment of status quo didn’t extend down the ballot.
While Nicholas Perkins didn’t win, though, the man who beat him, Terrance Adkins, to become the new District 1 councilman, is one of the most high-profile civil rights activists in the city. Adkins is the co-founder of the activist group Standing In Power and has been a central figure in the two-year protests between activists and the city.
Additionally, Sarah French, who appears headed for a runoff with Pam Werstler in District 4, is another prominent activist who has been a key figure in the Perkins’ protests. French got 47 percent of the vote in the five-candidate race, narrowly missing winning outright. French and Werstler will have an October runoff.
Regardless of who wins, though, one will replace outgoing councilman Hunter Pepper, who has been a near constant source of negativity and chaos, particularly in the wake of the Perkins shooting. Pepper also has been chronically absent for much of the last year, leaving the district with no representation.
