Diana Brown wins Albany City Commission Ward VI runoff

ALBANY – A Tuesday special election for an Albany City Commission seat came down to six votes in a contest that saw less than 6% of the electorate come out to cast ballots.

Diana Brown came out on top in the runoff election in which only 464 of Ward VI residents turned out in a week of early voting and on election day. That represents 5.74% of the 8,080 active voters in the ward who turned out for the election to fill the unexpired term of former Commissioner Demetrius Young, who passed in December.

Brown, who said she knocked on hundreds of doors during the election cycle, received 235 votes to come out on top by a little more than a handful. Brown’s runoff opponent, Samuel Gaines, also said he campaigned hard. The minister finished first in the three-candidate election in March and finished on Tuesday with 229 votes, or 49.35%.

For the March 18 election, 6% of Ward VI voters turned out, with 488 out of 8,094 casting ballots.

The Dougherty County Board of Elections will meet on Tuesday at 4 p.m. to certify the results, an employee at the county’s election office said on Wednesday.

Brown is scheduled to be sworn in ahead of the City Commission meeting on the same day for her first meeting.

Currently, the commission is two members short, as former Ward II Commissioner Jalen Johnson resigned at the conclusion of a March meeting to take what he said is a job with the Trump administration.

Voters in Ward II will head to the polls on June 17 to choose between candidates Muarlean Edwards, Henry Mathis and Willie Weaver.

The Ward II term extends through the end of 2025, so the candidates seeking a four-year term in the office will qualify again in August.

Young’s unexpired term will be completed at the end of 2026.