Stephanie Jones (right) and husband Kelly Jones (left). Photo courtesy Stephanie Jones
Stephanie Jones has won the election for Banks mayor.
Fending off a campaign from political newcomer Jonathon Boyer, Jones is on track to win the election handily, with Wednesday’s latest results showing her at 67.04% of the vote, or a total of 480 votes.
Boyer has so far received 30.03% of the vote, or 215 votes.
“I’m very excited to be able to get started in January,” Jones said in a phone call with the Banks Post on Wednesday morning. “I walked around today and collected my signs and I’m missing one, so I’m going to be putting a call out on Facebook for that one,” she said with a chuckle.
In a phone call with the Banks Post on Wednesday morning, Boyer said he had not yet seen the results of the race prior to the call.
“What’s next for me is supporting Mayor Jones and city council in everything over the course of these next couple of years,” Boyer said. “Because, as I had said before, the results of the election actually don’t change anything about what my plans are in terms of how I want to grow the connections within our community and just help everything become stronger, because, gosh, the times that we’re in right now are very rough times,” he said.
Jones, 45, is at the tail end of her first 4-year term on the Banks City Council. She moved to Banks in 1999, and lives in Arbor Village with her husband of 24 years, Kelly Jones, a soon to retire Commander of the Investigations Division at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. She will be sworn in as mayor in January.
The Jones’ have two children; William, who will enter his senior year at Banks High School this fall, and Maddie, who will be in 5th grade at Banks Elementary School. The family is rounded out by two cats and one kitten that Jones says is not popular with the other two cats.
“I want to be more involved in our city and I have the time to devote,” said Jones, when asked why she wanted to run for mayor prior to the election. “It certainly isn’t the $600 the mayor is paid for a year,” she added.
“Right now the priority is to weather Covid-19 and keep the city in a positive fiscal state. I also want to make sure the huge water transmission line is completed.” Jones told the Banks Post prior to the election.
In Jones’ nearly four years as a councilor, she specifically called out her work in leading the creation of Banks’ Urban Renewal District and her chairing the Budget Committee for the last two years.
Chas Hundley is the editor of the Banks Post and sister news publications the Gales Creek Journal and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.
