ATHENS — Mayor Ronnie Marks has secured another term leading the city of Athens.
Unofficial results Tuesday show Marks received 1,670 votes for 57.76% to defeat businessman Danny Whitfield, who garnered 1,055 votes (36.43%). A third candidate, Mark Wilson, had 171 votes (5.9%).
Marks has served as mayor since 2010, when he was appointed to fill the role after former Mayor Dan Williams left for the state Legislature. Following his 2020 reelection, Marks had signaled that would be his final term. But he later announced, after “lots of thought and prayer,” that he would once again put his “hat back in the ring.”
On the campaign trail, Marks emphasized the value of his experience in guiding Athens through rapid growth.
“We are the fastest-growing city and county in the state of Alabama,” Marks said. “And the projects that I’m personally working on, not that somebody else couldn’t pick them up and work on them, but I just feel like that it’s not time to turn it loose.”
City Council races
Four City Council seats were contested Tuesday. In District 2, Allen Creasy defeated Tim Colling. District 4 saw Dana Henry defeat Jarrod Schulte, while District 5’s Amy Golden beat Jamie Elliott.
District 3 looks to be heading to a runoff. Of the three candidates, James Lucas received 46.05% of the votes and Henry White 43.86%. Third candidate Kellie Dye received 10.09%
District 1 Councilmember Chris Seibert was unopposed and returned to office by certificate.
Runoff elections will take place Sept. 23, with winners set to take office Nov. 3.
